Unlikely Ties
by Wendelin W
Summary: Snape is given the special task of introducing a young and impressionable Harry Potter to the wizardry world and its perils. The task leads to greater developments and unlikely events in the lives of Severus himself and the boy he swore to protect. A rewrite of my old story, What if Snape.
1. Prologue

**A short foreword**

**I revisited this project a while ago just to see how far I've come regarding my writing skills and I must say I'm still in love with this story and I don't feel like I can ever rest if I don't make justice to its potential. I recently put up a tumblr to publish the rewrite because it's a more interactive platform, but several readers said it wouldn't be the best option. I'll still update the story at my tumblr - and hopefully put up original content over there - though I'll publish over here, too. After all, I'm all about pleasing my dearest readers. I did make some relevant alterations that will be explained as the story goes. **

**I hope you all enjoy it!**

**- Wendelin W.**

"Ah, I'm glad you came, Severus." Dumbledore said, putting his book down.

Severus hesitantly sat on a visitor's chair, wondering what was going inside the Headmaster's mind. A new school year was about to start and Dumbledore didn't fail to mention it would be _a very special_ year. Harry Potter was coming to Hogwarts.

The black haired man had the deep settled feeling the invitation for "tea" didn't actually have anything to do with tea.

"Just spit it out already." he said, eyeing the tea set on top of the desk between him and Dumbledore. "I don't know why you would make an effort to cover up the real reason you are calling me up here."

"Tea might help you to calm your spirits."

"Calm my spirits." Severus echoed. "What do you have to tell me that could possibly make me angry?"

"I have a favor to ask you."

Severus crossed his arms in front of his chest, with a slight smirk on his lips. He trusted Dumbledore but knew very well that the Headmaster was nowhere near the kind-hearted person people thought him to be.

"Alright. What is that favor?"

Deep down, he knew this favor would be related to Harry Potter, somehow. It had been around a decade since the day he vowed to protect the boy – Lily's son – with his own life, but it had been very easy to fulfill the promise when the boy was locked away in a muggle suburb.

Severus came to the conclusion he bit more than he could chew. Almost a decade after Lily's death, he didn't want to have anything to do with her son or anything that could really remind him of her again. It was an old wound that didn't bleed as much anymore, and with Potter coming to Hogwarts, he was sure it would stir some memories he wanted resting deep inside his mind.

"I need you to visit the boy. Special circumstances came to light in the past few days." Dumbledore said carefully, as if fearing Severus' reaction.

"_Which_ special circumstances?" Severus asked, trying to hold back his discontentment with the proposal.

If anything, he didn't want to "visit the boy". He didn't want to deal personally with the embodiment of everything that went wrong in his life.

"The boy isn't getting the letters." Dumbledore replied. "And I have reasons to suspect Petunia didn't follow my instructions and is trying to hide his magic nature from him."

"What did you expect?" Severus retorted right away. He knew about the disdain Petunia felt from Hogwarts and everything it represented, he knew very well how much Petunia resented Dumbledore. She had a long, long time to brew those feelings inside of her. "You dropped a baby with a letter at her doorstep. Do you honestly think she would listen to a letter, Dumbledore? Please. I told you that you should have talked to her personally that day."

Dumbledore leaned back on his chair as if though he didn't have a single care in the world.

"I'm afraid that we cannot change the past and undo our mistakes. But I want to make sure I set it right this time, although it would be too time consuming to talk to Petunia in person, so I found a better way to deliver my message. I need you to remind her that what's in the letter isn't just an old man's gibberish. Harry needs to stay with her and her family for the time being. I can forgive her for not telling Harry his history, but I can't take the chance of her kicking him out of home once it becomes unavoidable for them to face Harry's status as a wizard."

Severus pursed his lips in disgust. Of all alive people he never wanted to speak to again, Petunia would probably be nearly at the top of the list.

"Fine. Is that all, Headmaster?"

"Unfortunately, not. There's another layer to this favor I'm asking you. Nicholas Flamel, a friend of mine, decided to give me a very special gift, the Philosopher's Stone, which is now inside a vault at Gringotts, but you and I both know how many people would commit atrocities to have that stone in hands. I need you to fetch it and bring it to Hogwarts. And since you are visiting the Diagon Alley anyway, I want you to take the boy with you so you can help him buy his school materials. I doubt his relatives will take him."

Severus went silent for long moments.

"So I am supposed to babysit the boy for a day."

"If you want to put it that way, yes."

"You do know who you are asking this favor to, right? Why not send Hagrid?"

"I trust him with my life, but I doubt he will be careful enough to deal well with such delicate matters. I want the stone in perfect safety and I know you are a great wizard, as well as you know Petunia personally. She will listen to you. As for the boy, I'm trusting you will do a great job."

"Don't be so naïve. Do you think I want to deal with the boy personally? I don't."

"Of course I am aware of this fact, Severus. But, unfortunately, it's not simply about taking the boy to Diagon Alley."

"Why is that? Why can't I just drop at their house while he's away and talk to Petunia and leave?"

"Because they aren't at their house. They fled to a cottage in the coast, to avoid getting Hogwarts' letters." Dumbledore explained. "I visited the cottage myself earlier and it's not a comfortable place, let alone for Harry. You might not believe me, but the boy doesn't have an easy life."

Severus could believe that easily, although he wouldn't say it out loud. Petunia was bitter and knew how to hold a grudge; she was the kind of person who would take her frustration off on a child. In that regard, Severus knew he was no different. Being a teacher wasn't exactly his dream job…

Obviously, many other teachers could do this favor to Dumbledore, and eagerly so, but he seemed to get a kick out of torturing Severus with unpleasant tasks.

The real problem was, Potter was still Lily's offspring. Severus, above everything else, vowed to himself he would mend his past mistakes towards her, even if it was too late for her to forgive him.

And so he sighed.

"I'll do it. When?"

Dumbledore checked his pocket watch.

"Well, it is ten p.m now, so I think… That you should be heading to the cottage in about two hours. It's considerably far away from London and I don't want you to apparite with the boy. He is new to all of this, so I want him to absorb everything slowly. Try and answer his questions."

Severus stood up and left without a single word, wondering where all his time went. He could remember vividly the day Lily died and now he would meet her son within two hours.

His chest nearly ached, feeling those emotions all over again. All the despair, all the guilt. Lily was dead and now he had to take care of her son _and_ talk to her sister in the span of 24 hours.

Severus didn't feed any illusions about Lily ever forgiving him, wherever she was. If he couldn't let go of the past, then how could she…?


	2. Chapter 1

Harry was used to leading an uncomfortable life: a roof over his head and just enough food to survive was all he could get with Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. However, the situation took a turn to the worse as letters from a place called Hogwarts swarmed the house the day before.

Now, the boy wasn't sleeping in his dusty cupboard. Instead, a cold, hard floor was his bed that night, after Uncle Vernon snapped and decided to run away to a cottage on top a rocky island somewhere far away from Privet Drive. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were sleeping upstairs on a moldy mattress; Dudley and Harry had to sleep downstairs.

Dudley naturally took the couch – or rather the couch was given to him — and had three blankets to keep the cold of the storm away; Harry had a thin blanket, no body fat to speak of, and a sweater that had more holes than what he would have liked.

But it wasn't because of the dire conditions that he couldn't sleep. Harry stared at the watch around his cousin's fat wrist, waiting for the numbers showed there to turn to zeroes. That would mean that it was his birthday…

Every year before, ever since he was old enough to know who he was and what happened to his parents, he wished for something, anything, that could remind him of them. All he knew was what Aunt Petunia told him: her sister – Harry's mother – was an abomination and chose to marry a like-minded man. They were irresponsible freaks, they got drunk and they car crashed.

Harry somehow survived with nothing but a lightning bolt scar on his forehead.

He could not dispute the veracity of the story Aunt Petunia told him, but he knew it couldn't be entirely true.

This year, Harry wished the letters could find him again somehow. Someone at this Hogwarts place knew he slept inside a cupboard under the stairs, why couldn't this person know that he was unwillingly hiding on a cottage?

The clock struck midnight and Harry rolled over to lie on his stomach.

"Happy Birthday, Harry." he muttered as he drew himself a cake on the thick layer of dust covering the floor.

With all the raining and thundering, he could not hear the lock of the door clicking softly. He didn't see the knob turning itself, apparently alone.

The door opened, inch by inch, but whoever was trying to silently intrude the cottage had their plans ruined by a lightning and the thunder that shortly followed. Harry observed wide-eyed the silhouette of a man standing at the doorstep, while Dudley, who just woke up, prepared himself to start screaming when everything went dark again.

"DA-"

For some reason, Dudley didn't finish whatever he was going to yell, not that he didn't try: he screamed and screamed, but no sound came out of his mouth. The intruder enjoyed the opportunity to close the door.

A second later, the light hanging on the ceiling flickered and lit up. Harry was sure it wasn't working before.

The man looked around and his piercing black eyes met Harry's. He was entirely unfamiliar to Harry. He had a crooked, long nose with shoulder-length hair as black as his eyes and his clothes. He was about to say something, but was interrupted.

Aunt Petunia came downstairs, dragging her feet, obviously still half-asleep.

"I heard some noise…" she was saying when she spotted the newcomer. It was enough to wake her up. "Oh, _you_!"

"Yes, Tuney." the unknown man confirmed, forcing a pleasant tone of voice. "Me."

Even though he was still as a statue, Harry's heart hammered against his ribs. How come Aunt Petunia knew such a man?

Meanwhile, Dudley still tried to scream, to no avail. Petunia noticed it but the sudden mutism didn't seem to shock her as much as it shocked Harry.

"If it's Harry who you want, you can take him. I don't care."

"I do in fact want _Harry_, but you might be mistaken about my intentions. Dumbledore sent me here. The fact that you are willing to give the boy away so easily is a matter of concern for the wizardry and muggle world."

_Wizardry_.

"_As if you care_." Petunia said. "How come Dumbledore sent you here? I know what you did, Severus!"

"No, you don't. Not even half of the story." Severus replied, stone-faced. "Now, please take your son upstairs for a moment while I speak with Mr. Potter. Afterwards, we are going to have a _chat_. You can't fail to fulfill your role in this, Petunia. Otherwise… " He cleared his throat, and added with a lower, softer tone: "Lily's death will be in vain."

Petunia squinted her eyes for a second, and surprisingly enough, she obeyed. Within a few moments, the man named Severus and Harry were all alone in the room.

His attention turned to Harry once more as he approached the couch and sat on it with his legs crossed. Harry, who was on his stomach all this time observing the events unfold before his eyes, sat up, waiting for some sort of introduction.

"I am Severus Snape, Potions teacher at Hogwarts and as you might have heard, Dumbledore, the Headmaster, sent me here to clarify a few things." The man said and took a letter out of one of the pockets of his cloak. A Hogwarts letter. The boy's first instinct was to open and read it once he had it in his hands. "You'll have to read it later, because I want you to answer me a few questions first."

Harry stopped reading, though not before reading Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry written with a big calligraphy on top of the first page of the letter.

"How much of your past do you know, Mr. Potter?"

"Y-you know my name?"

"Everyone does. But you wouldn't know why since your_ lovely_ aunt had been obtuse about her obligations towards you. How much do you know?"

Severus Snape, whoever he was, won Harry's sympathy simply for disliking Aunt Petunia as much as Harry did.

"My parents died on a car crash." Harry said and touched his forehead. "And I escaped with this scar."

Severus tapped his foot on the floor melodically.

"I see. Are you aware that magic exists?"

Harry shook his head saying no.

"Does it exist?"

"Not only it does, but you possess magical blood. You are a wizard, Mr. Potter."

"Excuse me, I'm a _what_…?"

"A wizard. Like me, like your parents… As such, you were automatically enrolled on Hogwarts, where you are supposed to learn how to make good use of your magical powers. As already mentioned, I teach Potions and the Headmaster sent me over to… Help you with the practical matters of the situation. I'll be taking you to get your school materials shortly." Severus stood up. "Gather your belongings. I'll be back in a moment and we are leaving."

"But whe-"

"Any questions you might have will be answered in its due time, Mr. Potter." Severus cut him off. "Keep your questions to yourself for now."

Harry nodded and Severus went upstairs, leaving Harry alone with the letter, but the boy's desire to read it vanished. He was trying to understand everything first. Harry Potter, a wizard? Everyone knew his name? Why?

More importantly, who was Severus Snape? When did he meet Petunia, and how come Aunt Petunia knew so much about him? What did he do? Did he know Harry's parents?

There were so many questions to be asked and Harry asked none of them when Severus came back.

"I see you didn't gather your belongings like I told you to do." he said.

Harry realized he had just been sitting on the same spot and put himself on his feet to shove everything in his old backpack.

"It'll take only a moment." He said.

It, as a matter of fact, only took a moment and Severus arched his eyebrow.

"Is that all you brought, Mr. Potter?"

"It's all I have." Harry confirmed.

Severus looked Harry from head to toe.

"It does not look very… Warm." He took a deep breath and took out a wooden stick out of his pocket. "Before you ask, yes, this is a wand, and yes, you'll be getting one. No, you cannot touch mine." He tapped the wand on Harry's forehead and warmth washed over the boy, as if though he was taking a shower with hot water.

Except that the feeling stayed even when they stepped outside the cottage, and went under the rain. Harry's clothes remained dry and only then he realized: Severus was dry when he came in, even though he had been standing under the rain for some time.

There was a wooden boat waiting for them at the small dock of the little island. Harry hoped in first, followed by Severus. With another tap of his wand, the boat started moving towards the coast.

"Don't wizards have broomsticks?" Harry asked. Severus in response rolled his eyes minutely. "Sorry, I'm just curious."

"We do have broomsticks but it would be unsafe to come here with by broomstick if I have to take with me a lightweight child that could be blown away by the weakest wind, wouldn't it? Besides, we are going to muggle London. Muggles are people who are not wizards and we, wizards, live under a Statute that says we must keep magic a secret. A man flying with a broomstick over London would draw certain attention, Mr. Potter."

The rain went away, becoming just a drizzle.

"It would." Harry agreed, clutching to his backpack while the coast approached. "But you can call me Harry."

"I am your teacher. You will address to me as sir and I'll address to you as Mr. Potter."

"Alright." Harry said. "I mean, alright, sir."

"Before we make it to the coast, I'm being serious when I tell you to not ask questions while we are between muggles. I still have a few explanations to give you before I take you to get your materials but I'll give them when I feel that it is safe to talk. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

Soon they would be sitting on a late night train to London. Severus did not utter a word and Harry took it as a hint to keep silent as well. For thirty minutes, he managed to stay awake but slumber started to take over him and he didn't realize he was sleeping up until the train stopped.

The sun was just starting to rise, and Severus was still very much awake, reading a small, leather-bound book. Harry's chair somehow had been reclined.

"We are not in London yet." he said, without averting his gaze from the book. "It shouldn't take much longer."

Harry didn't drift back to sleep. Instead, he thought it would be a good time to read his letter and try to find out more about Hogwarts on his own.

OoOoO

Severus was finding the task to be uncomfortably easy. He expected a bratty, stubborn boy and what he got was a docile, withdrawn child. His father was a despicable brat at his age, and Severus wouldn't use docile to describe Lily. She was a kind-hearted person, yes. Docile? Never.

He thought he was doing a good job insofar, considering that he never did that before. The teachers at Hogwarts were given a list of muggleborn first year pupils to visit and explain the basics to them and their parents, but McGonagall and Sprout would always gladly split Severus' pupils between them.

Not that he didn't try before. Severus knew very well he didn't look like a trustworthy person, and back when he tried, he was barely out of his teenager years; at 22 years old, he looked like he could still be a student at Hogwarts. The parents of the girl thought he was a pedophile and called the police. Severus had to break a few wizardry and muggle laws to get away that day.

McGonagall knew he was a former Death Eater, also. It all added up and he never had to do visits again.

All in all, it could have been a lot worse. Petunia spoiled her son but not Potter: Severus didn't fail to realize the ill-fitting clothes and the broken glasses. It could've been a good experience for the boy if it wasn't way over the line of child neglect.

Potter didn't know that he was much richer than his own Uncle, and didn't know he was incredibly powerful. He didn't know he was the Chosen One. Considering his genes, it would be easy to let it get to his head if Potter had grown up aware of all the fame and all the money he had.

But apparently he starved, and slept on a cupboard. And not because the Dursleys were poor, oh no… It was deliberate.

This was wrong. Even if done to the spawn of the absolutely despicable James Potter.

When they arrived at King's Cross, Severus' first stop was a café still at the station. He could use a cup of coffee and the boy looked like he could use a full breakfast. It was very early in the morning and Severus hoped no one would listen to them, if they sat down at a table on the corner.

Dumbledore gave him express orders to enlighten the boy about Voldemort. It was best to do it before he entered the wizardry world: Severus was sure a lot of people knew Potter would be around Diagon Alley that time of that particular year.

Severus put the menu up to read it, a barrier between him and Potter.

"Just order whatever you want." he said curtly.

The breakfast would actually come straight from his pocket.

"Really, sir?"

"_Really_." Severus confirmed. "Try not to eat too much or else you will be sick and that would be unpleasant for both of us."

His role as the Head of the Slytherin House was more of a babysitter job than what it looked like. It wasn't uncommon to deal with sick children after feasts. Madam Pomfrey was only available to true emergencies at night; a child vomiting after having too much chocolate cake wasn't serious enough to wake her up.

"Can I order pancakes and juice, then?"

"If that's what you please."

Severus finally lowered the menu and faced the Chosen One: a green-eyed boy sitting across from him, looking gleeful at the prospect of being a wizard and having a full breakfast. Life was funny like that.

After ordering the food, Severus decided it was time to start talking.

"Mr. Potter, you might be wondering what truly happened to your parents." Severus started, once he was sure no one was listening to them. "And how come they died and you escaped. A war was at its full power when you were born. There was a powerful, evil wizard called Voldemort; your parents were openly acting against him and one day, he decided to eliminate your parents, using a curse so strong no one escaped from it. Except you. He tried to use the curse on you but it didn't work and he was destroyed in the process. Everyone knows your name, Mr. Potter. You destroyed the greatest threat to the Wizardry World when you were just a toddler."

Severus tried to tell the story as if though he was telling a fairy tale. How could you even tell a child all of that? A child that by all accounts was muggleborn?

"Is this true, sir?" was the boy's reply.

"You will see for yourself. People will mention it to you and I wanted to let you know beforehand."

"Then who was Voldemort? Why did he want to kill my parents?"

"Voldemort was one of the most powerful wizards of his time, although he used his powers to his own good. He caused so much fear that most wizards will not pronounce his name. He is simply referred to as You-Know-Who, and he wished to kill everyone who stood in his way. Your parents did just that and he tried to get rid of them."

"Did you know them…? My parents?"

Severus hesitated for a moment. Telling the truth was not an option, but which lie would he tell?

"I'm afraid I can't tell you much about them."

"Then how do you know Aunt Petunia?"

"Who I am acquainted with is none of your business, Mr. Potter." Severus replied. "I told you everything you need to know about your past and if you want to know more, I suggest you to look for Dumbledore when you arrive at Hogwarts this fall. We will be able to answer your questions better than I can."

The food arrived, cutting the conversation short.

Before even taking the first bite, Potter asked: "Aren't you going to eat, sir?"

"No, I am not."

"Are you sure you don't want pancakes?"

"Yes, I am sure. They are all yours."

Severus turned his attention to his book, trying to regain control of the old memories of his times as a double agent and shove them under the tight control of Occlumency.

Potter seemed heartbroken over his parents; he had no idea he just offered pancakes to the man who got them killed.


	3. Chapter 2

Severus couldn't lie to himself about expecting to see with his own eyes just how much money Potter had left to his orphaned child. He knew that Lily had a comfortable life even though Potter decided to be a useless member of society and seek no further education than the one provided at Hogwarts.

Potter thought he was so different from all the other pureblood families because he didn't uphold the pureblood ideal, but his upbringing seemed to show anyway: he was as spoiled and arrogant as any other rich pureblood wizard. Had Potter lived to raise his son, probably he wouldn't be calmly walking beside Severus, just ogling at the shops in Diagon Alley in wonder, obeying Severus' request not to ask anything.

He would have to make sure the boy had no serious questions until the end of the day, however first they would have to visit Gringotts. Severus had the Philosopher's Stone to pick up, and he had to make sure the boy would have enough money to last him for a year.

His relatives surely wouldn't send him money and if he went short on it, and without a doubt Dumbledore would put Severus in charge of picking it up. The Potions Master didn't feel like becoming a full time babysitter for Harry, although that was basically what he promised to do after Lily's death.

Dumbledore would sure remind him of that in every opportunity possible.

Gringotts was as it always has been: a calm, spotless place, full of hard-working goblins, at which Harry stared with no sense of politeness.

"Those are goblins, Mr. Potter." Severus explained. "You better get used to them because they don't particularly enjoy being stared at."

"Oh. I don't like being stared at either."

Severus did notice people at Diagon Alley observing them closely. Harry's permanently uncombed hair let the scar on his forehead show, and he was accompanied by no less than the most suspicious teacher at Hogwarts. Severus' status as a Death Eater was mostly a secret, but that didn't mean people gave him any ounce of trust.

He didn't mind. It kept people away, which was exactly what he wanted.

The goblin responsible for the keyless vaults did double check the letter Severus handed him, giving Severus permission to take the vault's content, nothing less than the Philosopher's Stone.

"I would like to visit the Potter's vault, as well." Severus said and put the key on top of the counter.

"What for?" the goblin asked, growing more suspicious.

Severus kept his cool: "The current owner needs to retrieve money for his educational needs."

Harry couldn't stop himself from speaking up, then: "I have a vault?"

"Your family does, and unfortunately you are the last living member of it. You have the right to make free use of whatever is inside, but keep in mind what's in there is supposed to last you at least until your education at Hogwarts is complete and you are fully adult."

The Potter vault was the first stop, and when the door opened, Severus realized his warning had been baseless: there was enough money in there to last for three or four very wealthy lifetimes.

Even then, Harry could not know that, considering he didn't know just how much a galleon was worth. And there was a great number of galleons on the vault, not to mention the rare magical heirlooms hanging on the walls.

Severus handed a fabric coin bag to Harry, as he didn't want to touch the money himself.

"How much should I get, sir?"

Severus didn't actually know.

"A full bag should do."

With that done, they went to the deepest parts of the bank's underground, where the vaults to the most ancient pureblood families were, like the Lestranges or the Malfoys. The vault Dumbledore reserved for the Stone was empty, if not for the Stone itself. That enticed Harry's curiosity, Severus could tell.

"Hogwart's matters." he said before getting inside the cart to come back to the surface level. "Don't mention this to anyone."

With the financial matters resolved, Severus decided to take Harry to get his wand first. It was still a bit early in the morning and soon Ollivanders' store should be packed, not to mention the process of picking a wand could take a while.

"Ah, Severus, long time no see." Ollivanders said when they walked inside the shop. "I remember very well the time you came here to pick your own wand. And, ah, I see you brought someone else with you. Harry Potter, what a pleasure to finally meet you."

The boy replied with a mildly terrified look towards Severus. He had green eyes exactly like Lily's… They were a constant reminder of why Severus was putting himself through all of that.

"Ollivanders, please go straight to the point, yes?" he said and sat by one of the two chairs available for too tired to stand parents. "We are in a hurry."

The first three wands were a terrible failure. A vase broke, several drawers were ejected out of their places and a pile of boxes fell out. Severus already got a hold of the book he brought with himself when Ollivanders solemnly picked a fourth wand for Harry.

As soon as he picked it up, the whole room went brighter and he said: "I think it's this one."

"Well, it's very curious. Harry, could you please follow me?"

Severus eyed Ollivanders as he took the boy to a secluded part of the store, where Severus couldn't listen to what they were talking about. Harry looked somewhat paler when he came back, already with the parcel of his wand in hands.

When they left the store, Severus had to ask: "Did Ollivanders say something strange to you, Mr. Potter?"

"No. But can I ask something, sir?"

"I suppose."

"Is there a chance that I might become evil like Voldemort?"

It was confirmation enough that Ollivanders did say something strange to Harry.

"There is always a chance people will become evil, but let's hope this won't happen to you."

"Okay."

That was the last word of the boy on the matter.

OoOoO

Harry was completely exhausted by the time Severus dropped him at the doorstep of the Dursley's house. Aunt Petunia answered the door with the worst scowl she had in her repertory.

"I will be back to pick him up in one month. I'm sure you know the date and the hour." was all he said before turning on his heels and left. Harry looked in another direction for a second and heard a loud crack. Severus had disappeared when Harry wasn't looking.

The following month was one of the slowest of Harry's life. He was nervous and excited at the same time, to be in a boarding school away from the Dursleys and his old classmates.

He didn't touch his wand. Severus warned him that it was illegal to perform magic outside of Hogwarts until he was seventeen, not to mention that it would be dangerous for someone who had no contact with magic whatsoever to try out new spells, even if apparently harmless ones.

Though on the day Harry was supposed to take the Hogwarts' Express, it seemed that the whole month of waiting went by in a mere heartbeat. He didn't sleep that night, packing and unpacking his trunk, to make sure it wasn't just a dream.

Severus' past intrigued Harry once again, as he waited for the Potions teacher to show up and take him to King's Cross.

At 9:30 and not a second after, the doorbell rang. Harry was already waiting at the entrance hall. Dursley was somewhere in the neighborhood beating up an innocent kid, Uncle Vernon was at work and Aunt Petunia had been on the kitchen with a closed door the whole morning.

No one was there to even say goodbye to Harry.

"This time we won't be taking a bus, Mr. Potter. Hold on tight to my arm and don't let it go unless you want to be sliced in half."

"How could I be sliced in half?"

"Apparition can be dangerous. You will study that at Hogwarts in its due time."

Harry did as he was told and in a split of second, Severus and he showed up in a deserted alley, just a block away from King's Cross.

"When will I learn how to do that, sir?"

"In several years. Now, I need you to pay close attention to how you can get to the Platform Nine and Three Quarters. You must have noticed there's only Platform Nine and Platform Ten." Harry nodded as they approached the column between the platforms. "You have to walk towards the column."

It was solid brick column.

"I'll just crash, sir."

"_I assure you that you won't_." Severus replied in an impatient mutter.

"That's a brick column!"

"For Merlin's Sake." Severus said under his breath before stretching his arm to touch the column. His hand went through it as if though it was thin air. "The platform is on the other side."

Harry swallowed hard and observed the column for a couple of moments before taking the first step towards it. Everything went black as he walked through the column and with a bat of an eye, he was at the Platform Nine and Three Quarters, packed of people, some dressed strangely, all of them talking and laughing.

Severus appeared beside him a second later.

"This is where I leave you, Mr. Potter. Do try not to get in trouble even before making it to Hogwarts."

Several people apparently already recognized Harry and he took a step back. He forgot that everyone knew who he was, in the wizardry world.

"Do you have to leave now, sir?"

"My presence is only drawing more attention to you and I have my own obligations at Hogwarts."

With that, Severus left. Harry went forward even with the stares, and found himself an empty cabin easily, as it was very early. Most students were still outside the train, saying goodbye to their parents.

Would Harry's parents say goodbye if they were alive?

He sunk on his place and spent several minutes just looking outside the window, wishing he had someone to say goodbye to. It seemed that more students went inside the train by the minute, although it did take a long while for someone else to open the door of the cabin.

"Excuse me." Muttered a scrawny girl, wearing a jacket far too big for her with the hood up, hiding her and shadowing half of her face. It was still possible to see the unnaturally blue eyes of hers. "Can I sit here?"

"Sure." Harry replied.

She seemed to be unaware of who was Harry, so they sat there in silence for a long while. He felt that he should introduce himself to her: "I'm Harry Potter. What's your name?"

"I'm Tonks."

"Tonks? Just Tonks?"

"Well, yeah. It's my surname but I don't like my name. You wouldn't either, if you father had decided to call you Henrietta."

"That's an interesting name."

"My dad is a bit daft." Tonks said in her naturally low voice. "But I suppose he has his reasons."

"What about your mother?" Harry asked.

"I wouldn't know. I don't know her. She's either gone or dead, and dad doesn't tell me anything about her."

"Don't you miss her?" Harry asked, feeling more at ease now that he had something in common with someone at Hogwarts.

"My dad is a bit paranoid about me, so I thought that having my mother around would stop him. I was homeschooled and he doesn't really let me have friends or get out of the house." Tonks sighed. "I suppose you will find out soon enough why… It shouldn't be too weird since I am between wizards."

She lowered her hood and took off her jacket. Her hair was tied in a knot on top of her head and it was the same color of her eyes, a bright, unnatural blue. She let her hair loose and it went down to past her shoulders. The roots slowly changed to red as a couple of students passing on the corridor of the train stopped to stare. They passed by and the roots returned to bright blue.

"It used to change color according to my mood. Still does, but I'm getting better at it. So what about you, Harry Potter? Do you have parents?"

"I don't have parents." Harry replied. "They died when I was a baby and I live with my Aunt and Uncle."

"That's bad. I'm sorry."

Harry shrugged it off and the subject changed. They started to talk about how they found out they were wizards. Tonks told about how Sprout visited and explained to her she was actually a metamorphmagus – _metamowhat?_ – and how her father cried when he dropped her off at King's Cross.

Harry didn't tell anything in much detail, but he told how his relatives tried to run away and Severus, who was a teacher at Hogwarts too, had to take him personally to Diagon Alley.

The time flew by, and the train started moving before Harry could notice. The conversation died at some point and each one retreated to their own minds, until a girl with bucked teeth and bushy brown hair opened the door.

"Excuse me. Is there any chance that you've seen an old rat running around? I'm Hermione Granger, by the way."

"I'm Tonks and this is Harry. We didn't see any rats around here, though."

A ginger-haired boy appeared then, holding said old rat in his hands.

"It's okay, Hermione. I've found my r-" He stopped suddenly when he spotted Tonks. "Wow, are you a metamorhmagus? My parents said they existed, but I didn't think I would ever see one." Then he looked to Harry. "Wow! Are you Harry? Harry Potter? How come you didn't tell you met _Harry Potter_, Hermione?"

"Could you please just come inside and close the door?" asked Harry.

Hermione and the ginger boy entered the cabin and sat down.

"Wow! I really… Are you really…?"

"I am, but please don't go around telling everyone."

"Telling everyone what?" Tonks questioned.

"That he defeated the greatest Dark Wizards of all times…" Hermione said. "When he was just a toddler. He survived a Killing Curse and ended the first Wizardry War. I've read a little about you, _but unlike Ron_, I didn't want to embarrass you or anything."

"I didn't want to embarrass him either! I just didn't know he was coming to Hogwarts this year. My mother didn't tell me a thing." The boy named Ron replied.

Tonks cleared her throat and said in a forcibly polite tone: "I'm sure we all have good intentions here." She then added, speaking normally: "Are you two first years too?"

Ron nodded.

"Yes. My older brothers and my parents always talked wonders about Hogwarts and I could barely wait to be old enough to be a student."

"Ron comes from a family of wizards." Hermione explained. "I've had the pleasure to meet two of his brothers. My parents were muggles, though. I had no idea magic existed until McGonagall appeared at my doorstep."

"How is it like to come from a family of wizards?" Harry asked to Ron, wondering how much different his life would be if his parents were alive and if he had grown up aware of magic.

"It can be a bit harsh sometimes if you have Fred and George as older brothers and if you don't have a wand to defend yourself, but it's mostly good." Ron replied, petting his rat. "They hid Scabbers earlier. I was looking everywhere! It used to belong to them actually, now it belongs to me."

Ron told the three who grew up between muggles a lot of information on how the wizardry world worked and its curiosities. They got along well and talked until the sun started to set and it was time to get ready to finally set foot on Hogwarts.


	4. Chapter 3

When the train arrived at the station, the first year students were called to gather around a rather tall and large man named Hagrid. "Rather" would be an understatement, as he was even larger than Uncle Vernon and his hands were as big as trashcan lids.

"Oh, hi there, Harry!" he said. Given Harry's slight frown, Hagrid felt he should elaborate further: "You don't remember me but I knew you ever since you were a tiny little thing sleeping in my arms. I knew your parents, as well. Fine people, they were."

"Were they?" asked Harry.

"James was a bit of a daredevil but he and Lily were good people. Didn't deserve to die that way, I'll tell you as much."

Harry didn't know what to reply. He wished to know more about his parents, of course, though he didn't feel comfortable discussing that for everyone to see.

And so Hagrid clapped his hands to call everyone's attention and yelled: "First years, we'll take a different road to the castle. Follow me."

He lead the first years to a small dock nearby. The students had to pair up and hop on the boats and Ron decided to pair up with Harry. Tonks went with Hermione in the boat behind them.

The view of the castle was breathtaking, under the moonlight in the clear night sky.

"It's even better than what my brothers told me." Ron said. After a while, he added: "What house do you want to be sorted into? All of my family was in Gryffindor so I guess that's where I have to go."

"I didn't really think about that."

"Well, just don't go to Slytherin. Most people who go there become Dark Wizards and the Head of the House is the worst teacher ever. He's really unfair and unpleasant."

"Who is he?"

"Severus Snape. He teaches Potions."

That was not the impression Harry had of him. Severus seemed far too stiff, however, so Harry saw how come people could misinterpret him as being unpleasant, but someone who annoyed Aunt Petunia that much couldn't be a bad person. He treated Harry better than any person ever did.

"I'm sure he's not that bad." Harry replied.

"He _is_ that bad, trust me, especially to Gryffindors. I've heard stories."

Harry fell silent. Severus didn't really get into how the House system worked at Hogwarts, so Harry couldn't refute Ron's words, but deep down he didn't believe them completely. Ron could know a bit more about everything, though Ron's brothers were not well-behaved students. Any teacher could be unpleasant to them.

As the castle grew closer and the silence between the two boys grew longer, Harry thought of asking: "And what about the other houses?"

"Well, there's Gryffindor. The best and most fun house there is. Your parents were Gryffindors, by the way. There's Ravenclaw and the ravenclaws are the brightest students at Hogwarts, I think, but they aren't very fun, and there's Hufflepuff, where people who didn't fit into the other houses go."

"Really?"

"Technically, Hufflepuff is for loyal and hardworking people, but we all know this means people who aren't evil enough for Slytherin, intelligent enough for Ravenclaw or brave enough for Gryffindor."

Harry couldn't put together an answer to that because the boats just arrived at a hidden dock beneath the castle.

"This is where I leave you." Hagrid said. "Go up those stairs and you will find Professor McGonagall."

Hermione and Tonks joined Harry and Ron again. Tonks' hair was showing a sickly green color, and Hermione showed that same color on her face.

"I am a bit nervous about this sorting." Tonks said as they climbed the staircase leaving the docks. "Because I'll live and eat and sleep with the people of the house I'm sorted into. What if I end in a house where I hate everyone?"

"I'm pretty sure you can end up in Ravenclaw or something. People are nice over there." Ron said to her. "Although you have to be smart to keep it up."

"Everything is going to end well." Hermione spoke, mostly to herself. "Right?"

Their conversation died when they saw a mature woman with a severe look on her face, as well as square rimmed glasses. Her brown hair was tied in a tight bun on top of her head.

"Welcome to Hogwarts." the woman said. "I am Professor McGonagall, and I will be on charge of the Sorting Ceremony tonight. The doors of the Great Hall are going to open shortly, and I want to stand in a line in front of the Sorting Hat. Step forward when I call your name and please remain calm while the Sorting Hat makes its decision."

Harry underestimated the size of the Great Hall. It was a great salon with the ceiling matching the sky outside.

"I read it's an enchantment they put on the ceiling." Hermione whispered.

Four great tables were organized vertically, each one belonging to a house and horizontally, on the back of the Hall, there were the staff's tables, and sitting there was no one else than Severus Snape himself.

Harry wasn't sure if he should wave or in greet Severus in some way, but the doubt went away as Harry saw the man sitting beside Severus, with a purple turban on his head. Immediately after, Harry's scar started to burn and he had to close his eyes for a moment, waiting for the bad feeling to go away.

He couldn't hear the Sorting Hat's song over the pain in his scar, and it only faded away when McGonagall started calling the names for the Sorting. The Sorting Hat was a hat that looked too old to even exist.

"This Hat has been at Hogwarts since the school opened, over 900 years ago." Hermione whispered again.

"That is an awfully long time." Tonks replied, while Ron resigned himself to roll his eyes not so discretely at the display of knowledge.

The first to go of the four children was Hermione. For Harry's surprise, she ended up sorted in Gryffindor; Ron's brothers greeted her when she sat on the Gryffindor table.

Harry was second.

The whole Hall fell silent as he stepped forward to sit on the stool and put on the hat. He dared to give a glance on Severus' direction, who was, too, observing him. Severus just gave Harry a quick nod and the boy pursed his lips in response.

As soon as Harry put the hat, a strange voice inside his head could be heard:

"It seems you already made up your mind."

"How so?" Harry replied in his thoughts.

"Two paths stand before you. You may go to Gryffindor, the house of your parents, or Slytherin, the house with a questionable reputation. Nevertheless, you chose Slytherin by heart, and I must agree with your decision. Slytherin is a house for cunning, ambitious and loyal people who are destined to great things. You too are destined to great things, Harry Potter, and you will find that among Slytherins you can find companions for life."

And so the Sorting Hat shouted "Slytherin!" for everyone to hear. No one cheered and even Severus looked as shocked as he could possibly look. Harry slipped to the floor and went to the Sytherin table with his head down, sitting apart from everyone else.

While he waited for Tonks and Ron to be sorted, Harry realized how deep of a choice he just made. It was like Tonks said: he would sleep and eat with those people. It became clear, in the following hours, that Slytherin's questionable reputation ran deeper than what Harry thought at first, given Severus' own wrongly given reputation.

Soon was Tonks' turn. In a matter of a minute, the Sorting Hat announced "Slytherin!" again. Harry sighed in relief as the girl sat beside him. A few people in the Slytherin clapped politely.

"I just found out something about my mother." Tonks muttered.

"What?"

"She studied here. She was sorted in Slytherin too."

"Your father didn't tell anything about her? At all?"

Tonks shook her head negatively.

"No, he didn't."

They remained in silence to watch the rest of the sorting. Ron went to Gryffindor, as expected. The last student, Blaise Zabini, went to Slytherin and the Sorting Hat and stool were taken away.

An old man with a long, gray beard and half-moon glasses stood up to say a few words: "Welcome, students. For those who do not know, I am Albus Dumbledore, current Headmaster of Hogwarts. I bid welcome and a good school year for new and veteran students. I am sure the latter already know a few rules we have: it's strictly forbidden for students to roam at the Forbidden Forest unless it's been authorized and supervised by Hogwarts' staff, and there is a list of forbidden items in our school, which Mr. Filch possesses at his office. There is a new warning to add this year, however… The third floor corridor is too forbidden for the students who do not wish to die a very painful death."

Dumbledore looked at every student in the hall, lingering a moment longer in Fred and George, Ron's brothers.

"Warnings given, it's time for the feast to start."

With a clap of hands, the tables were filled with all sorts of mouth-watering foods. Harry never saw a better feast in his entire life. Even though he didn't see may feasts, he was sure only a handful could possibly be better than a Hogwarts' feast.

And after the feast, there were numerous desserts. Pies, ice cream, cakes…

After all was done and plates were cleared, Harry was brought back into reality. As Harry and Tonks followed the crowd towards the lower levels of the castle, where the Slytherin Common room was, Harry alone was approached by a blonde boy and two large boys who reminded him of Dudley.

"Hello. I am Draco Malfoy and you must be Harry Potter. This is Crabbe and Goyle. We are all glad to have you in our house and we'd like to introduce you to the best people around."

Tonks was listening to the conversation and joined it: "And who would those people be?"

"Not _freaks_ or lowly mudbloods that's for sure." Malfoy replied.

"Or idiots like you, I hope." she retorted right back and dragged Harry away by the arm. "What's even a mudblood?"

"I don't think we want to know." Harry replied.

Maybe Slytherin's reputation was not completely misleading. Harry at that moment felt he should've chosen Gryffindor, but at the very least he had Tonks with him.

Gladly, when he made it to his dorm, he fell asleep too quickly to even think about the fact Malfoy was sleeping in the same room as he was. Next morning, Harry woke up early and left before anyone else. The details of his uniform were already silver and green.

The table division wasn't so rigid during breakfasts, it seemed, and Harry felt semi-confident to join Hermione sitting at the Gryffindor table, reading a newspaper called "The Daily Prophet."

Harry read the headlines about a vault being robbed that morning – except that the burglars got nothing because the vault had been emptied that morning. It was the same vault Severus emptied when he took Harry to Diagon Alley.

Hermione lowered the newspaper and finally realized Harry had been sitting in front of her for a while.

"I didn't expect you to be up so early." she said.

"I feel asleep as soon as I got into my dorm." was all Harry replied.

"Well, I woke up early because I wanted to get my time table as soon as possible so I could revise the subjects before going to classes. I've read all the books and practiced some spells at home but you can never know."

"Did you practice at home? Wasn't it dangerous?"

"I did break a few things and spoiled other ones with a few botched spells." Hermione said. "But nothing big."

Harry felt glad that he didn't practice anything. Hermione's parents might not have minded a broken teapot but Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia would severely punish Harry for breaking anything in the house.

By the time Harry finished breakfast, neither Ron nor Tonks showed up. He felt that he should try to find Tonks before the time tables were handed out – not even the teachers had shown up for breakfast yet – so he decided to go the dungeons, but not before asking Hermione if he could have the front page of the newspaper.

Harry thought that it would be relevant.

OoOoO

Severus took a while to fall asleep that night, replaying in his mind over and over the moment the Sorting Hat announced that no one less than Harry Potter had been sorted in Slytherin. Saying that it was unexpected wouldn't even begin to cover it, however what followed after the feast was nothing but predictable: the students had left the Great Hall and Dumbledore felt that he should comment the obvious elephant in the room.

"So this has been an unexpected sorting."

"It is, indeed. I wonder what kind of influence was set upon the boy for him to end up in Slytherin." said McGonagall, not bothering to hide the implications of her words: that Severus somehow influenced Harry to choose Slytherin, which he did not do in any way, shape or form.

He didn't want the boy to end up in his house, for several reasons. The most important of them being Severus had no interest in dealing with him closely. Other reasons included the fact being sorted in Slytherin was a guarantee of hardships and conflicts simply by existing inside of Hogwarts, although it might be a humbling experience for the spawn of James Potter.

"_Please_, McGonagall." Severus replied. "Yes, I may not have explained much about the sorting system and did not get into details about his parents, but Potter didn't know his parents. He might as well not care which house they were sorted into. He also didn't know I am the head of the Slytherin house. I didn't influence him one way or another, I assure you."

That fact was what was baffling about it: Severus didn't introduce himself as the Head of the Slytherin House as he should have done. He didn't say Potter and Lily were sorted into Gryffindor; he didn't say a word about anything Sorting related, period.

As far as Severus was aware, the boy was not biased towards any house. He ended up in Slytherin because he fit Slytherin and to a lower extent, chose it.

"I'm still not feeling very sure about it, Professor Snape."

Severus knew McGonagall was bit sore about him being chosen by Dumbledore to pick up Harry at the cottage his relatives hid him. She could have done that, as Hagrid or Sprout could have done it, but she didn't make a vow to personally protect the boy, which clearly influenced Dumbledore's decision, and neither did she know Petunia personally.

Petunia wasn't supposed to just let the boy go with whoever showed up on her doorstep asking to take Harry away for a day. That proved to be false, but either way Dumbledore was right to send someone she knew and unfortunately, that had to be Severus.

In the following morning, he woke up a bit later than usual. He picked up the time tables for the students and was going to the Great Hall when he bumped into the reason of all his past and recent problems.

"Here's your time table, Mr. Potter." Severus said, painfully aware he would have to teach Potions for the Slytherin _and_ Gryffindor first years later that day.

"Hm, sir, have you read the Daily Prophet today?"

"I haven't. Why?"

Harry displayed the front page of the newspaper: "Someone tried to rob that vault you emptied when you took me to Diagon Alley."

Severus narrowed his eyes for a moment and took the newspaper to read the fine print. Someone tried to break in, but several hours too late.

"That is…" Severus made a pause. "Interesting. I suppose I should thank you for letting me know."

He returned the newspaper and gave Harry his time table. Severus went forth towards the Great Hall with another stone weighing down on his already burdened shoulders.

The burglar probably already knew what he was looking for, or else he wouldn't go through all of the trouble of breaking into Gringotts for that particular semi empty vault. Could've been anyone, but Severus remembered seeing Harry rubbing his scar and showing signs of pain shortly before getting sorted. He also saw every single day how his Dark Mark never really went away. It was still there, very light gray against the skin of his left arm.

Could've been anyone, but that someone was under Voldemort's orders. He was hiding, somewhere, still alive, still actively conspiring to return.


	5. Chapter 4

Harry was somewhat nervous to find out he was supposed to have his very first Potions class that day. For the sake of knowing what to wait for, he read a bit of the book beforehand while Tonks was having breakfast. Harry then knew he should wait for a complicated class where he would probably fail tremendously.

While he was not as stupid as, say, Dudley, he wasn't particularly brilliant either… And Potions seemed to require a stupidly high level of brilliancy and attention to details. As Harry and Tonks waited outside the dungeons, he felt his stomach sunk with the imminent failure.

It was then that a few Gryffindors showed up, Hermione between them.

"Where's Ron?" Tonks asked to her.

"Well, even if he was here, I don't think he would be talking to us." Harry replied, remembering what Ron said about Slytherin.

Hermione sighed: "I can definitely say no one expected you to be sorted in Slytherin. I've read about Slytherin's reputation among the students and saw it for myself last night at the Gryffindor common room. Ron isn't an exception to that kind of thinking. I doubt he will even show up to this class; I would try to talk to him if he was anywhere to be seen."

"If anything, he might be partially right about Slytherin, but he should make an exception for us." said Tonks, side-eyeing Malfoy further down the hallway. "Have you read about what _mudblood_ means?"

"I did read a few things about the first wizardry war last night and it's been used as a slur against muggleborns. Muggleborns like me and Harry's mother. Pureblood wizards think they are somehow superior to halfblood and muggleborns, and that's what sparked the war."

"That explains a lot." said Harry, realizing that Malfoy was even worse company that he thought at first.

"Of course that not all purebloods believe in this…" Hermione added. She didn't have the time to finish her thoughts as Severus opened the door of the Potions classroom.

Much like everything in the dungeons of the castle, the Potions classroom seemed to be a room that swallowed the light. Not even all torches put together could successfully make the room seem well-lit. On top of each desk was an empty cauldron and several tools, and there were shelves with flasks of ingredients everywhere.

Malfoy sat in a desk in the very front row while Harry chose one at the most distant corner. Hermione and Tonks followed, sitting on the desk in front of him.

"Is this the head of your house?" Hermione turned around to whisper. "I've heard… A few bad stories about him."

"That's the man. I'm sorry, Harry, but he doesn't look very friendly." Tonks replied.

Severus was sitting behind his desk, writing down something in a parchment. There were still a couple of minutes until the time the class was actually supposed to start.

Ron had been right about Slytherin, so chances were he was right about Severus too.

"Where is Ron, anyway?" Harry said.

"I don't know. He should really make it in time if he doesn't want to lose points."

Too late. In that moment, Severus stood up and started pacing back and forth in front of his desk.

"For those who are still unaware, I am Severus Snape and I will attempt to enlighten you about the art of potion brewing. This class is not the time or the place for nonsensical wand waving and-"

The door opened again and Ron came in, panting heavily.

"That will be less twenty points for Gryffindor. Learn how to make it on time or learn how to knock." Severus said.

"But I-"

"Sit down if you don't want to lose another twenty points to your house."

Harry felt like disappearing in a hole on the ground as Ron sat beside him. He did not say it, but his face expressed his thoughts very well. _Didn't I tell you, Harry?_ Malfoy snickered for everyone to hear, but Severus did not take points from him.

"As I was saying before being interrupted, this class is not for those who are not ready to take the subject seriously. Today, you will try to brew a very simple potion used to treat boils which should not be troublesome if you bother to be careful. The recipe is in your books and further instructions are on the chalkboard. To work."

"Aren't you mad at me for being sorted in Slytherin?" Harry asked as he made a list of all the ingredients they would use.

"I…" Ron hesitated. "Well, yeah. A bit. How come did you end up in Slytherin, Harry?"

Harry knew very well why, although he wouldn't like to admit it to anyone, not even himself.

"The Sorting Hat decided, not me." he lied.

"You are very unlucky, then. At least you'll be in Snape's good graces since you are a Slytherin. If I could handle Malfoy, I would sure choose Slytherin just so I can get good grades in Potions."

Ron was wrong about Harry being in Severus' good graces. Just like Harry predicted, he had a few problems to get his potion right, and Ron wasn't much help, either…

"Which one of you was stupid enough to not read the part of stirring _gently_ the potion?" was Severus' comment. Harry tried to stir it as gently as he could.

Incidentally, Malfoy's potion did not earn any mean comments from Severus or loss of points to Slytherin even though its quality was much worse than Harry and Ron's potion. Hermione and Tonks' perfect potion didn't earn any praise or acknowledgment either.

"Harry, I am deeply sorry to break it to you, but Snape is kind of… A terrible teacher." Tonks said.

"I don't even know why you bothered to say _I'm sure he's not that bad_, when we were at the boat and I told you about him and Slytherin." Ron added.

"It's just that I've met him before." Harry replied. "He took me to Diagon Alley."

Ron stopped walking.

"Wait. _Snape_ took you to Diagon Alley? And you are still alive? That is news to me."

"I didn't tell you at the train because I didn't think it would matter." Harry explained himself. "Sprout went to Tonks' house and to Hermione's house too, so I thought it was just… Normal."

"It _is_, but not when Snape does that. No one knows for sure, but for me it's clear as the day the guy is a Death Eater."

"A Death _what_?"

"Death Eater. You-Know-Who's followers. Malfoy's father is allegedly a Death Eater, I'll tell you as much."

"Dumbledore sent Snape." Harry said.

"Because Dumbledore is getting senile. Snape could've killed you, Harry!"

Albeit Severus was an unpleasant teacher like Ron described, it couldn't possibly be that he conspired to kill Harry that day… Dumbledore looked old, too, though not senile.

Later that day, Ron received an invitation from Hagrid to have some tea at his hut at the borders of the Forbidden Forest and asked Harry to come with him. Tonks and Hermione also accepted the invitation and the four of them went to visit Hagrid, who didn't hide his surprise when he opened the door.

"You didn't tell you were bringing friends, Ron!"

"Is that a problem?"

Hagrid hesitated for a couple of moments but opened the door wider for them to come in. The hut wasn't minuscule but definitely seemed to be with the big furniture, made especially to fit Hagrid.

"So, what a surprise, eh? Harry Potter, a Slytherin…"

Slytherin without a doubt had its bad apples, but Harry noticed people seemed to be wary of him simply for the fact that he had been sorted in Slytherin, when it was rather obvious Harry would never be a Death Eater, for example. Tonks was raised as a muggleborn, too, so she wouldn't do that either.

"You know, I told Dumbledore he was committing a mistake when he sent Snape over to the place where you were hiding that night." Hagrid went on; taking a giant kettle out of the fireplace and serving tea in four mugs that looked more like buckets. "Don't get me wrong, everyone says bad things about Snape and most of them are false and if Dumbledore trusts him then we all should trust him too but he's a bit…"

"Lunatic?" Ron offered.

"We can go with that." Hagrid agreed and took a seat. There were only three chairs but two children could fit in one, so Harry and Tonks sat in one chair, and Hermione and Ron sat in another. "I'm sure you will do well, Harry."

Even though it didn't look like it was going to happen, Harry hoped so.

OoOoO

"I-it seems to me that you enjoy walking, Professor Snape."

"Yes, I do enjoy some quiet time… _Alone_." Severus replied.

On top of everything, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was nothing but an inconvenient coward who would not stop stuttering and following Severus around. He was used to being followed and had sharp senses to realize when someone was trying to sneak up on him, like Quirell usually tried to do. The smell of his turban denounced his presence in a radius of at least ten meters.

While visiting the Headmaster's office was common practice for teachers, Severus was not comfortable with someone knowing his schedules and trajectories, result of the short time he spent being a double agent for the Order: as such, he tried his best to lose Quirell before heading to meetings with Dumbledore.

There was a refreshing lack of garlic smell when Quirell wasn't nearby.

Severus was considerably late when he made it to Dumbledore's office.

"I'm sure you heard interesting news today." the Headmaster said when Severus arrived.

"Someone tried to rob the vault where the Stone was, yes. We both know this couldn't possibly be anything else but Voldemort acting towards his return. The good news is that we can say that Hogwarts was free of anyone spying for him before the day the vault was robbed."

While it was not a widely known fact that Severus picked up the Stone that day, it was possible for anyone who was at Hogwarts during the summer to know Dumbledore would guard the Stone at the castle. Walls were built to close the third floor corridor and the giant three headed dog Hagrid had been raising was taken there in a not very discreet operation.

The logical thing to assume was that Severus or any other teacher visiting Diagon Alley would bring the Stone to Hogwarts. Whoever robbed the vault was clueless about all of this, so it was safe to state that person was not at Hogwarts during the summer.

"You suspect of Professor Quirell, you are saying."

"I don't suspect of him as much as I think that we shouldn't place any trust in unknown people. Voldemort has plenty of reasons to try and infiltrate Hogwarts at this time. The Stone is here and Harry Potter is here. It would be stupid to reveal relevant information to people who are not loyal to the Order and are not ready to face torture and forceful interrogation."

"I trust your methods, Severus." Dumbledore replied. "Aside from keeping sensible information restricted to those we are sure that will not spill our beans, I would like to put extra wards around the Stone and I will put you under the responsibility of creating one of those wards."

"What do you have in mind?"

"A series of non-deadly traps and tasks. I gave out the warning for students but I'm sure they will try to get past Fluffy and some of them might even succeed. I'd like to be certain that a student wouldn't be able to find the stone and still be safe so we can rescue said student efficiently. We are a school, after all. Besides… It might lure Voldemort's ally in. It would be a shame to kill someone with useful information about Voldemort's state and his location."

Severus could see the logic behind the plan. He didn't think it was particularly safe to lure Voldemort's ally to the castle, but there was nowhere else someone working for the Dark Lord could be lured into considering the circumstances.

"That's doable. I will be done with it as soon as possible."

With that, he left the office.

In his way back to his personal potions laboratory, the view of Hogwarts' Grounds made Severus stop and observe the landscape for a minute. It was the perfect view of the very spot he'd been hung upside down and put the last nail on his own coffin.

It was fall and it looked very different from when it all happened, but if Severus was to come back during the heights of summer, he would see the same background he saw many, many years ago. It made him melancholic and at the same impressed with himself for surviving for so long, holding on to a non-existent thread.

The calm scenery was disturbed by a group of four students coming out of Hagrid's hut. Granger, Tonks, Weasley and… Potter. Apparently he already found his own little gang. It shouldn't take much longer for all of his docile nature to disappear under layers of arrogance and entitlement.

Severus as a teacher and former student knew exactly how much Hogwarts could shape one's personality.

Nevertheless, he should keep an eye on Harry and his whereabouts. Dumbledore's plan would not fail, and Voldemort wouldn't be looking _just_ for the stone. It was unclear either he would try to steal the stone or kill the boy first, so Severus had to cover all the bases.

It would be easier if the boy was willing to cooperate, but he wouldn't be; Severus couldn't afford to be publicly decent with him and eventually, whatever feelings of sympathy the boy fed for him would vanish, if they didn't vanish already.

Harry was in constant danger now, just as Severus feared, and he was the last thing to keep Severus from crumbling under the weight of his ill-made decisions. A slip and the boy could end up dead. There was no room for mistakes anymore; he was already guilty of Lily's death, he didn't want to be guilty of her son's death too.

Severus watched the four kids return to the castle in safety before continuing his way to the dungeons.


	6. Chapter 5

September soon would be over in an incessant stream of homework, classes and minor problems. Harry found out that Severus would normally cut a lot of slack for Slytherin students, while not cutting any for Harry, although like any other Slytherin, he faced the same problems.

He thought his fame as the one who destroyed Voldemort would soften the blow, but it didn't. If anything, it made it harder, because people knew his name and it was easy to see that a lot of them thought Harry being sorted into Slytherin was some sort of betrayal to the Wizardry World.

And most of all, there was Severus. Harry couldn't hate him as much as Ron did, because he couldn't put together the man who took him to Diagon Alley and the man who taught him Potions every Monday. Undeniably, however, there was something off about him.

Harry had the feeling he knew where Harry was anytime of any given day. If he was a Death Eater like Ron said – and it was very much possible – then it couldn't mean anything good.

When October started, something distracted Harry from the Severus conundrum. It was time for flying lessons for the first years, and the boy could not help but being curious about how it would feel like to fly on a broomstick.

"I have some old broomsticks at home, but mum wouldn't let me fly on them." Ron complained after an hour long explanation on how quidditch worked and the ways it could go wrong. They were supposed to be studying but the subject of flying lessons popped up and the homework was forgotten.

Harry was interested by quidditch. He was never particularly interested in team muggle sports because playing them would mean playing with Dudley or against him and neither option was safe.

"Well, first years are not allowed to play quidditch anyway." Hermione said pointedly. "So your mother doesn't need to worry."

Ron rolled his eyes.

"Why are you always spoiling my fun, Hermione?"

Harry's stomach was churning in excitement when a couple of days later, they walked towards the spot in the Hogwarts' grounds where Madam Hooch waited for them in front of two lines of broomsticks, each line for one house. Slytherin and Gryffindor would take the lesson together, and Harry couldn't decide if it was fortunate or not.

While it would be nice to take the lesson with Ron and Hermione, the Gryffindors were more vocal about their dislike of Slytherins.

Tonks' hair and eyes were a light shade of yellow, like egg yolk. It meant that she was apprehensive like Harry was, although she did not say it. When they got there, they realized the Gryffindors first years were as nervous as they were – too nervous to hate on each other for no apparent reason.

Madam Hooch waited patiently for several minutes until she checked her wristwatch and said: "Well, I think no one else is arriving, so let's start. I'm Madam Hooch, quidditch coach of this school, and I will instruct you on the basics on flying on a broomstick. First of all, I want to stress that is vital for you to listen to my instructions carefully. Flying in a broomstick can be dangerous for unexperienced people—" By then, Malfoy sneered to himself and his friends. He bragged about escaping from a muggle helicopter in a broomstick all morning. "No interruptions please! Like I was saying, if it can be dangerous but nothing bad is going to happen if you listen to what I say. Eyes and ears open."

A round-faced boy named Neville Longbottom swallowed hard. In Potions, what could possibly ever go wrong went wrong with him and during other classes, he was no different, according to Ron. An accident was bound to happen to Neville, and he seemed to be aware of it.

"Stand beside your broomstick of choice." Hooch said. "And stretch your hand over it. Say "up!" and it should come to your hand. The broomstick will be able to tell if you are uncertain, so you have to sound sure."

Harry by then knew some magical items had some form of free will, and didn't doubt the broomsticks could tell he was shaking on his boots. Still, he mustered the courage to say clearly and surely: "Up!"

The broom came up to his hand like clockwork. Ron struggled a bit but managed it, while Tonks struggled a little more and Hermione had to pick up her broomstick from the ground with a faint blush of embarrassment.

"Very well, now you should mount the broomstick. Remember to keep your grip strong and try not to slide to the sides." Hooch said next. "I want you to lightly push the ground, stay in the air for a couple of moments, and then put your weight forwards to steer the broomstick back to the ground. When I say three. One, two, thr-"

Before Hooch could finish saying three, Longbottom pushed the ground putting much more force than what he should have put: in a heartbeat he was flying higher, and higher, and higher, the broomstick sensing his fear and not obeying to his commands.

"Don't move, do you hear me?" Hooch yelled. "I will get you."

Once again, Longbottom failed to follow the instructions and slid to the side, falling off his broomstick that went flying towards the lake while the boy fell on the not soft enough grass, not far away from the spot Hooch was giving her flying lesson.

He landed on his arm, and whimpered loudly when he tried to stand up putting his weight on the arm he landed on.

Hooch knelt beside him and didn't even need to touch the arm to say: "It's a broken wrist. I'll take you to Madam Pomfrey, dear." She then yelled for everyone to hear: "I'll take Longbottom to the Hospital Wing. Do not move an inch above the ground or else you will be expelled before you can say Quidditch."

Everyone watched Longbottom and Hooch go, except Malfoy, who picked up a transparent globe on the ground and grinned to himself.

"I think Longbottom lost something." As Malfoy held the globe, it was filled with deep red smoke. "Do you think he'll miss it?"

Harry's blood was boiling within a minute. He remembered very well how he referred to Tonks as a freak, and used the word mudblood, on the day they met.

"Give it to me, Malfoy." Harry demanded.

"Oooooh, trying to stand up for him? Why? Do you think that anyone will change their minds about you? Do you think anyone is going to hate you any less?"

"It's not about what everyone thinks, Malfoy. Give the globe to me."

"Harry, you should-" Tonks said quietly.

"Well, I will give it to you. If you can take it from me." Malfoy interrupted Tonks and mounted on a broomstick.

He pushed the ground and went flying upwards, not uncontrollably so like Longbottom did. Malfoy might not have escaped from a muggle helicopter during summer, but he did know how to fly. Harry didn't know, but he would have to learn quickly.

It came naturally to him, however. From the moment his feet left the ground, the broomstick obeyed his command of flying up to meet Malfoy above the trees. The blonde boy was not expecting Harry to keep up with him, so he shot forward to fly around the castle.

Harry followed him with greater velocity and was about to reach him when he stopped.

"Well, that was fun, but I changed my mind now. You can get it."

Malfoy threw the globe away with all of his strength. Harry didn't think for a second before following the globe as it fell towards a certain shatter against the ground. He plunged vertically, tears rolling out of his eyes. He grabbed the globe before it was even halfway down.

Harry then steered the broomstick horizontally again and flew in circles to slow down and land safely on the ground. However, McGonagall was waiting for him.

"Potter." she said. "With me."

"I was just picking up Neville's globe." Harry explained himself as he followed the teacher to inside the castle.

"That you did."

McGonagall stayed in silence as she lead Harry to the dungeons, and then to an office that could only be Severus'. It could almost be considered a small library and there were several shelves of possibly rare ingredients, too.

"Stay here." McGonagall said. "I will call Professor Snape."

Harry tried to pick up his breath as he took the liberty of sitting down on a visitor's chair. He was going to be in serious trouble and would have detentions until the end of his days at Hogwarts, although at least he wouldn't lose any points for Slytherin.

Slytherin already lost many points as it was, Severus would not make the situation worse.

OoOoO

"What could possibly be so important to make me leave twenty clueless students alone in a classroom full of ingredients that could blow up half of the castle?" Severus asked as he walked outside his classroom, under the request of an uneasy Professor McGonagall.

They didn't get along well enough to pay each other visits without a very good reason to do so.

"I caught Mr. Potter flying in his broomstick without Madam's Hooch permission." she explained. "However, this is not why I came here. Hooch herself will give him appropriate detention, I am sure."

"Then why are you here?"

McGonagall swallowed dry, picking her words. She then leaned forward and talked in whispers as if though confiding a great secret: "The boy has talent for quidditch. As a seeker. He caught a Remembrall half way down the ground and still managed to steer the broom back to the normal position."

"Aha." Severus said. It wasn't entirely surprising for him to hear that someone with the Potter genes had natural talents for dangerous activities such as quidditch. "Pray tell, what am I supposed to do about it?"

"You know very well what I mean. You should let him play quidditch for the Slytherin team."

"You cannot possibly be asking me this." Severus retorted right back. "If the idea of letting a first year student play in the most dangerous position wasn't bad enough, you are suggesting for me to let Mr. Potter play quidditch while his neck is already at risk. I am not fond of the boy and yet even I can see this is a terrible idea. Anything that could exponentially increase the likehood of his death should be avoided, Professor McGonagall."

"I know this. I also know his time at Hogwarts might possibly be cut short and I want him to enjoy himself and develop his skills – whatever those might be – while he is still in a safe environment, where we can watch over him. Think about it, Snape: won't it be beneficial for him in the long run if he learns how to fly a broomstick decently with knowledge of evasive maneuvers? There is no additional risk for him if we watch him; there are only benefits if he develops extra skills that could help him getting out of… Tight spots."

Severus pursed his lips, chewing on McGonagall's words. He knew he was being somewhat dramatic when he declared that the chances of Harry dying would increase exponentially: obviously that if the boy was half as good as McGonagall described, Severus couldn't stop him from being a seeker in the following year, and having watchful eyes over him should be enough. It was a somewhat safe environment after all.

He also knew there was some logic to what McGonagall was saying, but explicitly break the rules just because Harry knew more or less how to fly a broomstick in his first try? That would probably feed his ego already prone to grow big.

"Still, Professor McGonagall, I am not going to circumvent Hogwarts' rules just for the sake of Potter _enjoying himself_. You must be out of your mind to come all the way down here and interrupt my class just to suggest this."

Severus saw no trace of defeat in McGonagall's eyes.

"Well, I came for you first." she said. "But I can also talk to Dumbledore."

The younger teacher had to hold back a deep groan forming at the back of his throat. Dumbledore would obviously agree with McGonagall and both of them would harass him until he obliged, not to mention McGonagall herself could just say right there she'd let Harry participate the trials for seeker, since she was the Deputy Headmistress and Severus, as a Head of the Slytherin House, didn't have much power beyond any regular teacher at Hogwarts.

In short, it was a situation to which he could not say no.

"Alright, then. I see you didn't come to ask for my opinion as much as you came to communicate your decision." he observed. "I'll let the boy participate in the trials, that is all. I am no under obligation of accepting him as a seeker before seeing for myself his skills, as opposed to mere word of mouth from biased people."

McGonagall didn't fan the flames by responding to Severus' slight: "Very well. Potter is waiting in your office for the news."

"I'll deal with him myself after this class is over. You did warn him not to touch anything, I hope."

"I might have." McGonagall replied in a soft but cutting tone before leaving.

Severus returned to his classroom very frustrated. The only good thing he saw on Harry being on Slytherin was that this way, Severus could have a proper grip on the boy's education. It looked like it wasn't true.

During the remaining time of his class, Severus had time to find a way to tell Harry the news and he went to his office ready to try and persuade Harry to not participate on the quidditch trials.

McGonagall could force Severus to let the boy participate, but she could not force Harry to pick up a broomstick.

Harry was sitting on a visitor's chair, hands gripping the armrests as if though Severus was about to torture him.

"I have been informed by the Deputy Headmistress that you are allowed to participate the quidditch trials for the Slytherin team." Severus said, sitting behind his desk and entwining his fingers on top of it.

"W-what?"

"You heard me well. This isn't a large office, unfortunately."

"But I thought that-"

"The rule still remains but I was forced to open an exception to you, Mr. Potter. Do not let it get to your head. You have permission to participate the trials only, there is no guarantee you will make it to the team."

"That's… Great, sir. I'd love to play quidditch." Harry replied, wide-eyed. He did utter these words without a drop of arrogance in them, though Severus feared that would change soon.

"It's a dangerous sport." Severus said. "Fatal, even. It's not to be taken lightly."

Harry nodded, understandingly.

"I won't, sir."

Severus was not yet satisfied: "And let us hope you won't think that no other rules apply to you just because you are the almighty Harry Potter. I am still the Head of your House and will be able to cut you off the team for misbehavior."

"I will behave."

"Like you were behaving by flying without Madam Hooch's explicit permission?"

Flush started to creep up Harry's neck.

"It was Malfoy, sir. He took something from Neville and I was just trying to get it; you won't believe me but that was what happened." Harry explained himself. "I wasn't flying because I wanted to, sir. Malfoy was."

Severus did believe. Knowing the young Malfoy, he knew it was perfectly possible for such scenario to happen, however he was not in position to do anything about it.

"There's no reason good enough to break rules that are for your safety only, Mr. Potter. And for that, you will receive detention."

A light grimace creased the boy's expression. Technically, Madam Hooch was supposed to give him detention, but Severus decided to deal with it himself, mostly because she was going to let Harry scoot free under McGonagall's influence.

Knowing Petunia, Harry probably had a bad history with cruel punishments, but that didn't give him a free pass from not getting any detention at Hogwarts.

"What kind of detention, sir?" he asked lowly.

"Scrubbing cauldrons. Without magic. Be at the Potions classroom at eight o'clock and not a minute later. You are free to go."

"Yes, sir." the boy said and walked out of the office leaving Severus with the feeling that this would be a long school year.


	7. Chapter 6

The detention went twice as good as Harry thought it would go, even though his arms and back were stiff by the end of it. Severus' only words were: "The trials will take place a week after Halloween." and "You can go now, Mr. Potter." He spent the rest of the time reading a book and taking notes.

Harry tried to accomplish his task the best he could, fearing Severus would ask him to do it again until it was to his taste, even though the teacher didn't inspect the cauldrons before letting Harry go, two hours later.

Tonks was quietly waiting for him in a secluded corner of the Slytherin common room.

"How did it go?"

"Could've been worse."

"If he's a Death Eater like Ron said, it could've been dangerous too."

Harry deep down didn't think it made any sense for him to be a Death Eater. However unpleasant he was in his role of teacher, it didn't change the fact he was alone with Harry a whole day and Harry was still alive to tell the tale.

"Well, maybe… Maybe Ron's wrong."

"We just don't know yet." replied Tonks, nodding.

Unlike Ron, she had heard all the details of the day Harry spent with Severus.

Harry barely slept that night: at first he thought it was too good to the true that he would spend several months in a place away from his relatives, but even in Hogwarts, he was stuck with sleeping with people he disliked and still had the constant feeling something seriously bad was going to happen, sooner or later.

The morning after, his feelings proved themselves to be false. While he and Tonks ate a silent breakfast, the owls started to come in. Harry didn't expect to receive any parcels, so he kept on eating and was startled by a broom-shaped parcel landing right in front of him.

The owl landed also, chirping contently. It had a note attached to its paw.

_I didn't have the chance of giving you a birthday gift, and I thought I'd do it now. _

_P.S.: Come by later to pick up the cage and food for your owl._

_Hagrid._

"There's a note in the parcel, too." Tonks said and read it for Harry to hear: "Good luck with the trials. Professor McGonagall."

Harry frowned for a couple of moments. She didn't seem like the kind of person who would do such a thing, but Harry recalled Severus telling him the Deputy Headmistress – who was McGonagall – allowed Harry to participate in the trials.

"Is that a broomstick, Potter?" queried Malfoy from further down the table. "I hope you like scrubbing cauldrons, because in the moment Professor Snape knows about this…"

"Mind your own business." Tonks snapped in a surprisingly harsh tone, she who had always been soft spoken. Her irises started to go deep red. "If he has a broomstick, it's because he is allowed to."

"Who allowed him?"

"Professor McGonagall, the Deputy Headmistress. If Snape has a problem, he will have to talk to her."

Harry said nothing, questioning if Tonks was in her right mind. By then she knew how to control the color of her hair and her eyes, although she only ever used bright unnatural colors because she didn't know her natural hair and eye color. Tonks confessed to Harry that in her earliest baby picture she had blue hair – and her father would never say a word about her birth, as he never said a word about anything related to her mother.

Malfoy scowled and left the table with Crabbe and Goyle behind him. Tonks blinked and her eyes were back to their usual bright blue, and she offered Harry a proud grin.

"I'm getting better at this."

Harry looked around and saw that Tonks and Malfoy's exchanged brought even more attention to themselves, as well as the owl, which was still chirping.

"I'm just going to take it to my dorm and go to Hagrid to get the cage and the food for…" Harry considered the owl's name for a moment. "Hedwig."

"I think I'll try to find Ron and Hermione. I'm sure they'll want to see the broomstick."

They stood up and split, Harry with the parcel under his arm and Hedwig sitting on his shoulder, chewing on his hair.

Perhaps studying at Hogwarts would not be so bad.

OoOoO

Tonks walked on the outskirts of the Great Hall, with growing uneasiness. She called attention everywhere she went – while she was getting better at controlling and transforming her appearance at will, unfortunately she didn't have nearly as much control as she would like. Her default color seemed to an almost painful to look at blue.

And even between wizards, she was the odd one out. Metamorphmages were even rarer than Sprout made them sound.

Tonks was glad that she easily fit in with an equally odd group of friends, although some of them didn't get along so well; namely, Ron and Hermione. Ron couldn't care less for the rules, and he would get excited once he knew that Harry was the only first year in the castle to have a broomstick.

Hermione, on the other hand, would probably be worried and warn Harry it would be dangerous, which was a valid concern after all. Tonks herself didn't know what to think yet, so she'd refrain from being too excited or too worried about it.

What Tonks saw when she looked for the two Gryffindors was Hermione sitting beside Ron being completely ignored while the ginger boy talked to his other classmates, who didn't accept Tonks very well either.

She slipped to the empty spot beside Hermione.

"Hello." Hermione said, with a shy smile. "What was that parcel Harry just got?"

"It was a broomstick. Not only that, but Hagrid gave him an owl as a belated birthday gift. I'm just waiting for him to come back so we can go to Hagrid say thank you and get the cage for Hedwig. Want to come?"

"What does Harry need a broomstick for?"

"McGonagall allowed him to participate the trials for Slytherin seeker."

Hermione, much like predicted, soon exhibited a deep line between her eyebrows.

"But first years aren't-"

"McGonagall opened an exception for him, apparently." Tonks explained.

"What did McGonagall do?" Ron barged in, finally noticing Tonks was there.

She explained what happened to him, who got very excited about it to no surprise of Tonks' part and once Harry was back at the Great Hall, they all headed to Hagrid's hut.

Hagrid seemed pleased to see all of them there.

"Come in, kids!" he said, opening the door wide. "Did you like my gift, Harry?"

"I did. Thanks." Harry replied as he sat down.

"Well, yesterday McGonagall told me to go to Diagon Alley and buy you a gift for her and I thought I'd throw in something of my own, too."

"Oh. Why is McGonagall doing all of this for me?"

Another thing that Tonks also found weird was Hagrid's much friendlier attitude towards Harry. Apparently he got over Harry's unfortunate sorting, but that didn't explain McGonagall's attitude; she was a strict teacher as well, albeit not as hostile as Snape could be sometimes.

"Ah, you are a bit like family. We both knew your parents – fine people they were."

Harry would always be touched every time someone mentioned his parents. There was no room for doubt that they were nice people who had many friends. Tonks, however, wasn't as lucky as Harry on that regard. Considering that her mother had been a Slytherin and had a child with a muggle, it was possible that she didn't have any friends.

It wouldn't go well if she went up to Snape and asked if he knew any Slytherin girls from his time that had a baby with a muggle. Her name wasn't even on Tonks' birth certificate.

"We should go, though." Hermione said. "Our classes are about to start and we still have to pick up our books."

"Or Hagrid could tell us more about Harry's parents." Ron suggested.

"No, you kids go to your classes!" Hagrid said. "Hermione is right, you should all behave and put effort in studying."

"Why did you have to say that, Hermione?" Ron complained as soon as Hagrid closed the door behind their backs.

"We were going to be late. Harry can come to Hagrid any time and ask, but we won't get another Transfiguration class like today's class."

"Plus I don't think Harry should thank McGonagall for the broomstick by skipping her class." Tonks added. "Right, Harry?"

He nodded silently. It was clear that he agreed with Ron in some level, but he should at least recognize it would be rude for him to skip her class on the very day she sent him a broomstick.

"What broomstick was it, anyway?" Hermione questioned.

"It was a Nimbus 2000."

"Harry! No way! It's the best broomstick there is. The fastest, too. Even if you weren't a good seeker, you could probably make it to the team just because you have a Nimbus 2000." Ron said. "You are a good seeker, though, I saw it, so…"

"Is it expensive?" Tonks asked, genuinely curious. When she went to Diagon Alley, her father only let her stop on the stores they were supposed to visit. She recalled seeing a Nimbus 2000 in a window but couldn't stop to look at it.

"Very. McGonagall was generous."

"See, that's why Harry shouldn't be late to her class!" Hermione defended herself.

"Quit nagging. We are going, aren't we?"

Hermione didn't say another word, and walked faster, leaving the group behind. Tonks pursed her lips in a quiet response. She didn't like seeing that her first and only group of friends didn't get along well with each other.

"Ron, you should probably be a little less harsh with her."

"Oh no. You too, Tonks?"

"Well, I'm trying to see from her point of view." the girl replied and followed Hermione. Ron was nice when he wanted to, but sometimes he was simply infuriating.

When she caught up with Hermione, already inside of Hogwarts, she had water pooling on her eyes.

"Ron is kind of stupid." Tonks said.

"I know." Hermione replied with her lower lip trembling slightly. "And unfortunately, he's the only person I know from my house."

Tonks didn't know what to do to comfort Hermione. Ron had been hurtful and didn't look like he was going to change anytime soon. Hermione _was_ a bit bossy but never did that with bad intentions in mind.

"He will have to grow up a little. Eventually."

"Yeah, when he needs to copy my homework, maybe."

Hermione then fled, wiping away tears, but was at the Transfiguration class with a clean face, as if she never shed a tear. Ron didn't apologize and continued to treat Hermione as if nothing happened.

The situation went back to normal, but Tonks knew it was just a matter of time for the ticking bomb to explode. It took longer than she thought, however: Halloween came around and Ron and Hermione were still in the best terms they could be.

It was then that everything went to hell. The morning went by as usual, and so did lunch, but when the afternoon classes were over and Tonks looked for Hermione in the library, where she always went before dinner, and didn't find her there.

A bunch of first year Gryffindor girls were studying in a table nearby, and Tonks took a deep breath, mustering the courage to ask if they saw Hermione around.

"Hey, have you seen Hermione?" she asked softly to a blonde girl who looked at her up and down.

"She's probably in the girl's bathroom in the dungeons. I saw her crying and going there." Lavender Brown replied. "Granger even missed the last class of the day."

"Ah. Okay. Thank you." Tonks replied with a smile but it turned into a scowl after she turned on her heels to go to the girls' bathroom.

If Hermione was crying, the only reason could be that Ron said something dumb yet again. And it had to be serious if she missed a _class_ to hide in the bathroom.

Indeed, Hermione was hidden in a toilet. Tonks couldn't see her but she could hear Hermione sniffing.

"Hermione."

"Tonks?"

"What did Ron do this time?"

Tonks heard weak laughter from inside the toilet.

"Well, this time he called me an annoying know-it-all and asked Harry why you and him still bothered to be friends with me." Hermione said and blew her nose. "Harry said that I wasn't annoying but I know he's just too nice to say it out loud like Ron did."

Harry didn't enjoy studying as Hermione did, of course, and they didn't have much in common besides not having many friends, but Harry couldn't think that of her.

"I'm sure he doesn't feel that way." Tonks said. "I just think he doesn't_ know_ how bad it feels for you, since we are in different houses and we aren't together very often. I don't think he realizes Ron is like that to you all the time."

"Maybe."

"Are you feeling better?"

"Barely. My face must be really swollen because I've been crying for hours."

"But you should at least come out for dinner. It's Halloween! The feast is going to be great today."

"I will try."

Tonks stayed there for a long while still, just chatting in an effort of making Hermione feel better enough to come out and go to the feast, but the time of the feast came by and she had yet to leave the toilet. Tonks was feeling hungry enough for her stomach to growl out loud.

"You should go to the feast." Hermione said. "My face looks terrible. I'm not coming out of here."

"Will you be okay?"

"I will. Just save me some desserts if you can."

"Alright. I'll do that."

Tonks headed alone to the Great Hall. She'd rather have the company of Hermione, not only because they got along well but because the empty castle send chills down her spine. It was Halloween, after all.

She managed to get to the feast in one piece, however, and sat beside Harry.

"Hermione is in the girl's bathroom." Tonks let him know. "She had been crying because of that thing Ron said about her earlier."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It upset her quite a lot."

The mood to enjoy the fest went down the drain, and it only got worse Quirell stormed inside the Great Hall yelling at the top of his lungs: "TROLL! TROLL IN THE DUNGEONS! I thought you'd like to know…"

With that, Quirell collapsed in the middle of the Hall. And his collapse brought up utter chaos upon the students, most of them who were screaming and trying to get away.

"FOLLOW YOUR MONITORS TO YOUR COMMON ROOMS PLEASE." Dumbledore ordered above all sound.

There was a small detail. The troll was in the dungeons, and what else was in the dungeons? The Slytherin common room. And the girl's bathroom.

"Harry! Hermione is the dungeons! She's in the bathroom and doesn't know there's a troll." Tonks muttered to Harry. "What are we going to do?"

"Let's go get her." he replied.

"Isn't it better to call a teacher?"All the teachers were busy trying to organize the students and take them away from the Hall in safety. "Well, the Slytherin students aren't going to the dungeons. We can slip out."

Harry nodded and they discretely slipped away from the crowd of Slytherin students and away from the chaos of the Hall. They had left for a couple of moments only when someone joined them: "Where are you going? The troll is the way you are going!" panted Ron, making Tonks and Harry stop.

"So is Hermione." Tonks said. "Because she was in the girl's bathroom in the dungeons for _hours_. Ever since you called her an annoying know-it-all on her back."

"I didn't know she'd be so upset!"

"She is and we are going to get her." Tonks retorted and took the lead to the dungeons.

She read descriptions of what trolls looked like, and how tall they were, but she could never quite grasp their size and strength until she saw one face to face: the door of the girl's bathroom was just several steps away from her when heavy footsteps thundered further down a perpendicular hallway.

The troll, so giant that its head brushed against the high ceiling of the hallway, was coming their way. They would never take down that monster by themselves.

"I'm going to find a teacher." said Tonks under her breath and ran away as fast as she could, back to the Great Hall. The greatest adventure she had before Hogwarts was sneaking out of home to play on the playground with other children.

By the time she reached the Great Hall, it was empty, if not for Quirell, still collapsed. Her heart was hammering against her ribs, and her breathing was raggedy and short, but she tried to keep herself as silent as she could.

Quirell, unaware that he was being watched, stood up, brushed the dust off his robes and walked away, towards the upper levels. Tonks narrowed her eyes for a couple of moments before deciding to follow him. It was weird that he found the troll and looked so placid she would barely be able to tell it was him, if not for the purple turban.

He went up to the third floor quickly, Tonks losing him out of sight and finding him again several times. Quirell went straight to the forbidden corridor, which had been locked with a wall. The only way in was a door, that Quirell opened with a spell.

Tonks waited outside for a couple of moments, trying to pick up her breath. Did she really want to know what was inside and what could Quirell want in there? No. But she felt that she must know, and opened the door ajar.

Soft melody filled the quiet air of the corridor, and in the dim light, it was possible to see a giant frame sleeping on a corner. Tonks opened the door wider and saw it was a massive three-headed dog and an open trap door in front of him.

She closed the door and fled from the scene, her mind racing as fast as she ran back to the dungeons. So in the forbidden corridor there was a giant three-headed door guarding a trap door. What was Quirell doing there, then, when he should've been helping the students and the rest of the staff as soon as he got up?

Tonks reached the dungeons without bumping on anyone, gladly, and when she arrived at the girl's bathroom, the troll was on the floor of the destroyed bathroom, dead or unconscious.

"See, Tonks, we didn't need a teacher." Ron observed.

"Quirell… In the forbidden corridor…" Tonks said, trying to catch her breath. "Giant… Three-headed dog. I think he's-"

"What on Merlin's beard happened here?" McGonagall exclaimed out loud, coming from the other way Tonks arrived there.


	8. Chapter 7

"Well, Professor, I tried to take down the troll on my own but Harry, Ron and Tonks saved me." Hermione lied through her teeth; Harry just nodded, too overwhelmed to know how to react properly but trusting that she'd know a way to get them out of the situation without harm.

They did save her, which was overwhelming enough, but Tonks disbanded to find a teacher and found something else.

"This was incredibly foolish of you! All of you! I expected different." McGonagall said.

"The troll is unconscious, though." Flitwick observed, kicking the troll with his small foot.

McGonagall's lips formed a thin line, the blood all sucked away from her face.

"But it could've gone much worse. You are pupils in this school and we are in full responsibility for your safety. I will grant you ten points each, but take away five from the defiance of direct orders. Do not attempt this again, are we clear?"

"Yes, professor." replied Tonks.

"Flitwick, please take Mr. Potter and Miss Tonks to their common rooms. I will take Weasley and Granger to theirs."

Since they were already at the dungeons, soon Harry and Tonks arrived to their common room, where everyone watched them come inside in stunned silence.

"I have something to tell you." Tonks muttered. "But right now doesn't sound the place and the time for me to do that, so tomorrow in the morning I'll do it."

Harry remembered faintly what she had said when she arrived in the bathroom. Tonks was panting about a three-headed dog, somewhere in the castle. A troll and a three-headed dog in the castle, at the same time? Why didn't she tell McGonagall about it?

How did they come in anyway? Wasn't Hogwarts supposed to be the safest place on the Wizardry World?

That night, he didn't sleep and it looked like Tonks didn't either. When he left his dorms, the girl was already at the common room waiting for him and took the lead towards the Great Hall in silence. Ron and Hermione were already there, as if though they all shared the same thought of meeting in private as soon as they could.

"What the bloody hell happened last night?" Ron busted out as soon as they were in an empty hallway not far away from the Great Hall. "Where were you, Tonks?"

"I did come back to try and find a teacher, but the Great Hall was already empty. When I arrived, Quirell was still on the floor, and then he stood up as if though nothing had happened to him." Tonks said in a single breath; she'd been holding back those words the entire night. "He didn't look like the same person, and left in the opposite direction of where the troll was, so I thought I'd follow him without him knowing. Well, he went to the forbidden corridor. I opened the door and all I saw was a massive three-headed dog napping behind an open trap door on the floor."

"Really?" Hermione asked. "Well, I think it's pretty clear they are using the forbidden corridor to protect _something_."

"Something someone was trying to steal. How did the troll even come into the castle? Is this a common occurrence in magical castles? Trolls appearing out of nowhere?" Tonks added. "The dog is definitely guarding something, and the troll was just a distraction."

"Then why didn't you tell McGonagall about it?" Hermione said. "I think she'd like to know."

"She must have known. At least Quirell did, if he was there checking up on the trap door. Or at least that's what I assume."

"But what could possibly require a three-headed dog to guard?" Ron questioned. "And who could be after it?"

Harry had been silent for the whole exchange, slowly coming to a conclusion that seemed somewhat unlikely: that Severus had picked up what was in the trap door. The small packaged he retrieved from the vault didn't look especially valuable or powerful, and still the vault would've been robbed later the same day if it wasn't already empty.

Tonks shrugged.

"Don't know. All I know is that there's something behind the troll. Someone brought it in." Then, they all went silent, each mind working towards an answer for all the questions they had.

Harry debated internally for a couple of moments, wondering if he should tell what he knew or not; it wasn't like Severus would ever know, as long as Ron, Hermione and Tonks kept it in secret.

"Listen." the boy said. "I think I know what's under that trap door, but you have to keep quiet about it, or else I might get in trouble." Once they all had agreed with a nod, he went on: "You know the day when that empty vault at Gringotts was robbed? Our first day at Hogwarts?"

"I do. I even gave you the page of the newspaper that day." Hermione said.

"Well, that day I was at Gringotts. With Snape. He emptied that vault and there was just a small package inside, that fit inside Snape's pocket, and he told me not to say a word about it."

Given Ron's guesses that Severus was a Death Eater, Harry kept undisclosed that he took that page to Severus himself. Ron reacted immediately: "Really?! Dumbledore sent _him_ to pick you up _AND_ pick up an item so valuable someone put a troll inside Hogwarts just to get it?"

"You probably shouldn't say it out loud, Ron…" Tonks said in a whisper.

"That's just odd." Hermione observed. "It's pretty safe that's the package everyone's looking for apparently. Size means nothing when it comes to magic, so… It might even be a weapon."

"But what if it is _Snape _trying to get it?" Ron said.

Tonks was skeptical.

"If he's a Death Eater, he had whatever that thing is and Harry all for himself a whole day. I don't think he's the one we are looking for; someone else other than him tried to steal the thing that same day and he could've gone away as well. But I don't know. I just think we shouldn't point fingers while in the dark."

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Tonks is right, Ron." said Hermione. "Let's just… Wait. But if something happens, we need to tell McGonagall right away. We shouldn't be looking for trouble."

They already were looking for trouble, however, and they would be in a worse situation should McGonagall know they had been snooping around. Harry was aware that they shouldn't even know what Severus did that day.

It would be for the best if they stayed quiet and tried to solve the mystery themselves.

With that, they went back to the Great Hall, right on time to see Severus limping towards the staff table.

"There was a dog, you say?" Ron muttered. "I guess someone was bitten."

OoOoO

Severus didn't expect he would be back in the field in such short notice. When Quirell came inside the Great Hall, the Potions master knew the troll was not the real concern inside Hogwarts that night.

Someone put the troll inside to create a distraction and get the stone. However, Severus had to find somewhere to put the Slytherin students in safety first, and made it to the forbidden corridor a little too late.

Fluffy the dog was sleeping profoundly, while a soft melody played. Severus could only get close enough to peek at the open trap door: the music stopped playing and the dog woke up, ready to attack him.

Not even a skilled Dark Wizard could deal with three heads at the same time. Severus, sitting down on a bed in the Hospital Wing with his bandaged foot, remembered vividly the sharp pain of a tooth biting into his flesh, bones and tendons. He only got out of there alive because a Conjuctivitus curse distracted both heads of the dog while he crawled away from the corridor.

He didn't think he'd be so close to death again, and he didn't think he would fail.

If only he had managed to get into the trap door, then maybe he could've caught whoever was there and get rid of a serious threat inside the castle. It was bit more disturbing than that. What happened the night sent Dumbledore a clear message: Voldemort or his ally could come and go as they please.

The castle was not safe.

Sprout confirmed the stone was still on its place, but the robber vanished, already knowing that Fluffy would sleep at the smallest hint of music. He only did it because he could come back again later.

Severus was lying back, trying his best not to collapse at the proof of his inefficiency, when Dumbledore opened the curtains around his bed.

"I'm glad you are already sitting down. I have news you might not want to hear standing."

"It's not like I _can_ stand, with my ankle basically reduced to dust, is it, Headmaster?" Severus snarled, feeling in the worst of his moods.

"Pleasant as always… Well, Minerva and Phinius went to the dungeons to try bringing down the troll and sending it back to the Forest and what they found was the bathroom destroyed and the troll already unconscious on the floor."

"Why?" Severus asked slowly, feeling he would not like to hear the answer.

"Harry and his friends took it down by themselves."

Severus immediately saw red. How did the boy escape right under his nose? He was the one trying to get the Slytherins to a safe place. How did he not see Harry and Tonks slipping away? She had _blue_ hair, for Merlin's sake.

"And what did McGonagall do?" he asked in a stranded voice. Severus knew that a storm was to come if he let his anger out.

"She rewarded them a few points for the bravery."

The dam broke, then. Severus yelled as loud as his lungs allowed: "She did WHAT?!"

Severus went silent, panting as if though he had run a marathon. McGonagall was going to get the boy killed. First letting him play quidditch and giving him the fastest broom available, and then _rewarding_ him for risking his neck foolishly. She was doing nothing more than teaching Harry he would get rewarded for breaking the rules.

He knew Harry was not as much of a dunderhead as he could have been, but the boy might turn out to be that way if McGonagall kept fanning the flames.

Dumbledore did not speak for a couple of moments.

"It seems that you and Minerva need to reach an agreement on how to properly look for Harry's safety."

"I cannot reach an agreement with her when she can tell me what to do."

"The boy had a hard time at home. I'm sure you understand what that feels like."

Severus narrowed his eyes and rested his full weight on the bed, deflated, aware again with what kind of people he was dealing with inside Hogwarts; people who would have favorites and enable every single bad behavior in them.

He never forgot how Black scooted free from an attempted murder, and how Potter would always get away with tormenting and persecuting him. Severus thought that seeing how that attitude didn't work – hell, would he leak the prophecy to Voldemort if the treatment destined for him at Hogwarts didn't feed the hate towards Dumbledore, the Order and consequently the Light Side?

Severus knew very well he didn't do any of it forced, but maybe his thought process would've been different if Dumbledore had been an efficient Headmaster.

All he knew is that he couldn't let Dumbledore do the same to Harry. It simply did not work: Severus turned into a Death Eater, Black into a traitor and Potter into a fool who thought there were no negative consequences to his mistakes. Lily paid the price.

"I don't care." Severus said, then. "What I care is that the boy is at risk and no one in their right mind would enable him to increase the risk by himself. McGonagall might try to turn Potter into his father, but I won't allow it. I vowed to protect him and I don't need to hear what you say to do that. In fact, I think it might be the best if I don't. Potter doesn't need coddling."

Dumbledore simply brushed the thin-veiled threat off: "What is important about what happened tonight is that we now know for sure Voldemort has an ally inside of Hogwarts. I have plans to increase the security around the stone."

"I don't want to hear any of it right now."

"Fair enough. We will discuss this further once you are in a better shape." Dumbledore said and left off.

Severus didn't think he would ever be in a good shape knowing the great security problem inside Hogwarts. That night, he swallowed down the strongest sleeping potion he had and in essence, slipped into a coma, which he woke up from feeling even worse than before, aware that the problem couldn't be solved unless Voldemort made the next move.

The week went by eventless, if not for Marcus Flint requesting the exact day and hour the quidditch pitch would be available for the Slytherin quidditch team to make the trials. He expressed discontentment with the idea of letting Harry participate the trials, and Severus had to agree, but it was McGonagall's decision and he could do nothing about it.

But as the Head of his House, he was aware the quidditch team enjoyed rough housing during trainings and especially during trials, albeit they had no other target in mind but winning. With Harry on the pitch with the best broomstick, the situation might not be the same.

Severus forced himself to make some time and be present at the trials. His presence alone should prevent serious injuries to happen, or so he hoped.

It was before dinner, the sun was setting and the visibility conditions were not the best. He could see a head full of blue hair on the opposite side of the bleachers, however. For the trials, the official players formed a team of the candidates and would play against them.

Severus felt a heavy weight on his stomach as the first match started and Harry flew at top speed around the pitch. Any accident at that speed could be possibly fatal.

What Severus did not expect was that Harry would be as good as McGonagall thought he was: the teams could barely play, as he found and captured the snitch again and again in a matter of a few minutes, dodging every threat throw in his direction.

In twenty minutes, Flint ordered him to leave the pitch so they could finally play for more than three minutes and test the other candidates. Despite that, Severus was certain Harry would make it to the team. Flint wasn't going to have any other way. He was as tired as Severus was of losing the cup to Gryffindor again and again.

Severus felt powerless, as he usually felt in the hands of McGonagall and Dumbledore: letting Harry play quidditch – however great his skills were – meant just another opportunity for Voldemort to kill him. Just a slip on the speeds the broomstick reached could be fatal for a fragile eleven years old.

He feared McGonagall would put two plus two together far too late.


	9. Chapter 8

Harry almost could not believe when he got the news from Marcus Flint that he was the new official seeker of the team; he thought that he somehow performed poorly and that was why he got kicked out of the trials within twenty minutes.

Being part of the Slytherin team had been something good for Harry: the other players definitely looked terrifying and uninviting at first sight, however they were quite nice after Harry got to know them better.

"Nervous?" Flint asked to Harry in the morning of their very first game against Gryffindor. The boy had his stomach in a tight knot; he'd play against Ron's twin brothers and while he _wanted_ to win, he wondered if this wouldn't make his situation more complicated.

"Very."

"I was soiling my pants the first time I played." Adrian Pucey, the keeper, said encouragingly. "But everything turned out well. It can be a pretty violent game but only the bludgers are going after you. It won't be that bad."

"Plus Fred and George will be the ones throwing them. I'm sure they'll go easy on you." Tonks observed. Her hair was deep green with silver streaks that morning. She also got herself acquainted with the Slytherin quidditch team, as Harry was her only friend in Slytherin and she managed not to shy away from knowing the other players.

Flint snorted.

"I don't think so. But their Cleansweepers won't be nothing on Harry's Nimbus 2000. They won't even spot Harry."

Harry swallowed dry as he stared down at his plate, hungry but too nauseous to eat with all the talk about quidditch. Ron told him multiple stories from quidditch matches that went horribly wrong, and he didn't even mean to scare Harry but that was what happened as the boy considered himself to be pretty unlucky.

Two hours later, he would be waiting with the other players of his team to go inside the pitch and play. Harry was by far the smallest of them all. Even though they were from his own team and a seeker usually had to be small and light, Harry could not stop himself from feeling hesitant and intimidated. Was he really as good as Flint said he was?

He'd have to see it for himself now.

"Eyes on the snitch, Harry." said Pucey, a couple of moments before the time for their great entrance. "And don't let people on the bleachers get to you. Every student from other houses will be here cheering against us and they will try to get you distracted."

"Okay. I can do that."

Or so he thought…

The order to mount and go to the pitch was given and Harry gripped his broomstick as tight as he managed while he flew around following the Slytherin team. Pucey did not lie when he said that the other houses would be there cheering for them to lose; only the Slytherins clapped when the team gave a first turn inside the pitch, while most people at the bleachers cheered loudly when the Gryffindor team showed up.

Ultimately, Harry knew people would be wary of him either he got the snitch or not, so he'd rather get the snitch: he was strangely focused when the team got into the formation and waited for Madam Hooch to blow the whistle and start the game.

He saw the snitch fly upwards in the center of the pitch and take a sudden turn left, disappearing from his view; he went towards the direction he saw the snitch going and positioned himself above all players, while trying to keep an eye on the Gryffindor's seeker and any possible bludger coming his way.

It took him only a couple of minutes to spot the snitch several feet across. The other seeker was cornered by the bludgers of the Slytherin team and all Harry had to do was speed up and catch the snitch. The game would be over and the Slytherin team, victorious.

He hesitated for only a second before putting his weight forward and making his broomstick follow the snitch, with wind the cutting through his hair and his clothes. Harry was almost there when the broomstick unexpectedly steered to the right against his command.

The sudden steer almost made him slip out of the broomstick towards a fall high enough to get him killed, not that the rush of the game let him realize that. He just adjusted himself better and kept going after the snitch even when it decided to go closer to the floor in a vertiginous drop between several players in the pitch.

Harry's broomstick was visibly shaking, as if it was torn between doing what Harry wanted and doing what it wanted to do. The snitch once again changed directions to go straight forward, in a line parallel to the floor.

The broomstick still wasn't cooperating and Harry saw that he wouldn't get the snitch that way; he didn't even realize how badly the broomstick was vibrating and trying to steer to other directions. Harry also did not realize how everyone in the bleachers went silent, watching his struggle.

Suddenly the Nimbus 2000 stopped resisting. Harry just took the opportunity and sped up, easily grabbing the snitch. No one cheered. No one even saw what he just had done, not until he held the snitch up in the air.

Pucey was the first to start cheering, and then Madam Hooch whistled, announcing Slytherin had won the game. In a moment of distraction, the broomstick turned sideways in a violent jerk, catching Harry off guard: with the snitch still in his hand, he fell on the grass of the pitch shoulder first. There was no snitch, no quidditch, no anything.

Just darkness.

OoOoO

Tonks was smashed between Ron and Hagrid at the Gryffindor bleachers, feeling slightly out of place there with her hair showing her support for the Slytherin team. Alas, it was an important day for Harry and she would not miss it just because of an old and nonsense quarrel between Slytherin and the other houses.

The game started fine enough, with the Slytherin somewhat violently stopping the Gryffindor team from doing anything at all, while Harry was free to search for the snitch. It didn't take him long to find it and promptly pursue it while the Gryffindor seeker was too far away to even think about following Harry in his Nimbus 2000.

And then his broomstick started to behave in a weird fashion, clearly trying to throw him off into a long fall which could be fatal depending on which part of the body Harry landed on.

"Someone's hexing his broom!" Hagrid exclaimed. "And he won't even stop chasing after the snitch!"

"I… I don't want to be accusative here, but I think Snape's hexing the broom." Hermione said right after, pointing her binoculars to the staff bleachers.

"How do you even know?" Tonks asked.

"Because he's looking straight to Harry and muttering. He doesn't break eye contact. That's one of the main signs of a wandless hex." Hermione replied, as if reading her answer straight out of a book. Tonks had to be impressed with her knowledge sometimes. "Tonks, Ron, come with me. I know what to do."

"W-wait! Where are you kids going?"

"We'll be back soon, Hagrid." Ron replied and followed Hermione without question. She somehow found a way to get underneath the bleachers, and it was then when he questioned Hermione's idea: "What are we going to do, exactly?"

"We are going to break his eye contact. He probably cannot use his wand at this distance, so eye contact is the only thing Snape has. If he's not looking… Then the hex won't work. I just hope we make it on time."

Tonks and Ron exchanged a quick glance between them, both wondering what was going through Hermione's mind. In less than a minute, they were underneath the bleachers designated to the staff.

"What are we doing here?" Tonks muttered, afraid someone might listen to them.

"We are going to create a distraction." Hermione then approached what seemed to be Snape's feet, with the end of his cloak right beside them. She got her wand at ready and pointing straight to the cloak, she muttered: "Incendio."

In a heartbeat, a generous fire caught on Snape's cloak and by the movement of his feet, it was possible to see he had been distracted like Hermione hoped.

"Let's go, let's go." she ordered in a whisper. "If they find us here, we'll have problems for the rest of the term."

They heard loud cheering moments after, and went back to the bleachers to find out what had happened. Harry was flying around the pitch with the snitch in his hand, grinning as if though his life depended on it.

But then the broomstick turned sideways; unprepared, he fell and didn't move anymore.

OoOoO

Severus was fuming. Once again, he had failed. Harry was unconscious in the Hospital Wing, with a damaged shoulder, and Voldemort's ally's cover was still intact. Severus had the suspicion that the ally they were looking for was inside the castle permanently; as far as Severus was aware, no one else but the staff and the students were present in the pitch that morning.

Obviously that many things passed under his nose in the past months, so he did not trust himself with his intuition anymore. But it was a possibility, and he had to keep his eyes open for anything.

What puzzled him the most was that whoever Voldemort's assistant was, he or she was close enough to set his cloak on fire to stop him from counteracting the hex on the broomstick. He was close enough to notice Severus was trying to do it, which shouldn't be good news if the situation came to the point of Voldemort truly returning.

However, he could not stop himself from feeling an ever so slight fling of triumph. Harry was hurt, once again he failed to find the culprit, but he had been right about something: Harry shouldn't have played quidditch. It was the perfect opportunity to get rid of him and Voldemort seized it, although Severus' counterhex did turn a death into a broken shoulder.

Severus almost floated towards the Hospital Wing, ready to say "I told you so" with all the smugness he could muster within himself, but it all went away as soon as he arrived and saw Madam Pomfrey vanishing the shirt and the cloak of the Slytherin quidditch uniform.

Harry's should was beyond recognition; it turned into a blue, purple and black swollen mass. It hit Severus that it _was _a murder attempt, and instead of being worried about it, he was celebrating the idea of proving McGonagall wrong.

With his eyes closed, Harry looked like a miniature version of his father, and although Severus wanted to think the similarity was more than just physical, he knew it wasn't true. Harry was a quiet and cooperative child and didn't stop being so just because he was the youngest seeker of the century.

Lily wouldn't be happy to know that Severus undermined the situation for the sake of feeling better about himself.

"Is there anything I can do?" Severus asked softly to Madam Pomfrey, as McGonagall and Dumbledore were still not there.

"You can fetch me more painkillers and sleep potions in the cabinet." the old lady said. "I'll have to put him to sleep. The blow in his head wasn't as bad as it could've been but if he wakes up now, he'll feel a splitting headache." She shook her head. "This makes me remember…"

It made Severus remember too. He knew exactly what Madam Pomfrey was talking about. He saw it, he took part in it. Entire families murdered, bodies so disfigured that they were beyond recognition. It was all starting again.

Severus silently did as Madam Pomfrey told while she ran some healing spells on Harry's shoulder and head. It was then that McGonagall and Dumbledore arrived.

"Merlin's beard." the Deputy Headmistress gasped upon seeing Harry's state, covering her open mouth with her hands.

Severus swallowed dry.

"I did warn you that it would only represent a danger to his life." he said. "We simply don't know if Voldemort wants to get rid of Harry or get the stone first. I was trying to stop the hex on the broomstick but whoever is helping him was close enough to set my cloak on fire and distract me. He _saw_ I was trying to save the boy. Needless to say, I don't think I'll have a place in his ranks when he returns thanks to the events of today."

Not that Severus cared. Being a double agent probably would enhance his lifespan and quality of life for a while, however he didn't wish to live much longer inside a castle he despised, with people he equally hated, in a job he was not fit to have. He would've ended his life back when Lily died if Dumbledore hadn't convinced him to stay and protect Harry, and that he would do, even if it meant blowing his carefully constructed cover and ending his life for the sake of saving Harry's own.

However, Dumbledore, as the leader of the Order of the Phoenix, did care if Severus wasn't able to be a double agent again if the situation took yet another turn to the worst.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." Dumbledore said. "Severus, I think your assertions are correct, but the full situation is yet to unfold before us. Let's stay focused and keep acting carefully."

"As a first measure, I'd consider taking Potter out of the quidditch team. He shouldn't be in it in the first place."

"I don't think this would be the wise thing to do. What we should do is enhance our security during quidditch matches and keep an eye open for anything suspicious."

Speaking that way, it sounded like a good plan. But Severus knew it was nothing more than…

"So you want to use Potter as bait."

"Those are harsh words to use." Dumbledore replied.

"But it's exactly what you plan to do."

"W-well, if it represents a way of stopping Voldemort from returning, perhaps even eradicating him altogether, we should give it a try." McGonagall said. "We already know that whoever is doing this is watching us closely and even inside the castle, so now we can protect Harry better."

"I will be the referee the next match he plays on." Severus decided.

His cover was already blown anyway, and if there was the slightest chance of ending Voldemort forever…

"I wouldn't have any other way." Dumbledore said with a smirk.

Severus resigned himself to scowl. He was the only one insane enough to do whatever it took to protect Harry; of course he'd be the one to stand in the fire line while the Order and Dumbledore reaped the benefits. Unfortunately, Voldemort had many secrets. It would be foolish of Severus to think he could destroy the Dark Lord himself.

He hated the Order, but had nowhere else to go.


	10. Chapter 9

Harry didn't recall how much time he spent at the Hospital Wing, or even much of what happened during the game. Gladly, in a couple of days he was discharged and his first stop was Hagrid's hut, alongside with his friends.

"Hello, Harry!" said Hagrid, opening his arms to give the boy a hug but stopping himself after realizing Harry's shoulder wasn't completely healed. "Uh, come in. You scared us all."

"Did I?" Harry asked as he went inside. "I can barely remember a thing."

"Well, if anything, it wasn't _Harry_ who scared us." Ron said and took a seat. "If you can't remember, you were chasing after the snitch and your broomstick started behaving oddly, trying to knock you off."

"Someone was hexing your broomstick." Hermione added. "And I think it was Snape."

"How do you know?"

"Because he was looking straight at you and muttering non-stop. Plus, when we set fire to his cape, the hex stopped, didn't it, Hagrid?"

"It did, but I think you might be understanding things wrong." Hagrid replied. "Maybe it was someone else."

"Maybe it was Quirell." Harry agreed. In his mind, it made no sense for Severus to do that, mostly because he had better chances before. "He was trying to get past the three-headed dog that night, wasn't he?"

"How do you know about Fluffy?" Hagrid blurted out.

Tonks went wide-eyed.

"_Fluffy_? That dog's name is _Fluffy_?"

"I've had him since he was a puppy. A greek friend of mine brought him for me, but then the dog grew a bit bigger than I expected, and Dumbledore said he could use Fluffy to guard the – I shouldn't have said that."

"The what, Hagrid?" Tonks inquired. "I knew it was guarding something!"

"It's private business between Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel, nothing students should-"

"So Nicholas Flamel has something to do with it." said Hermione thoughtfully. Hagrid went white as a piece of paper and started to stammer:

"You students really shouldn't mess with this… I shouldn't have said anything…"

Hermione changed the subject of the conversation all of sudden and the other children followed suit, knowing she had something brewing inside her mind and would spill it out as soon as they went outside the hut.

"You know, this name, Nicholas Flamel, it isn't unfamiliar." she observed while they walked towards the castle. "I'm sure we can find it if we look for it in the library, and that if we find it, we'll find out what Fluffy's guarding."

"And then it all might make a little bit more sense." Tonks went on. "Harry, I don't want to scare you or anything, but someone was trying to _kill_ you on that pitch. So, we know at least a person inside is trying to get what Fluffy's guarding and someone else is trying to get rid of you. Depending on what's under that trap door, it might as well be the same person."

"Well, I was trying not to think that." Harry said.

His thoughts were a bit scrambled by all the potions he had to take during his stay on the Hospital Wing, but he was still sharp enough to remember if he had fallen the first time the broomstick tried to eject him, he would be dead. What saved him is that the snitch decided to go closer to the ground and when the broomstick succeeded in making him fall, he was close enough to escape with only a temporary injury.

"I just hope Dumbledore is working on this." Ron spoke. "So we can catch Snape soon. And don't even talk to me about him having the chance before. Hermione saw it. He might not be trying to steal whatever's in the trap door, but he did try to kill Harry. Which is way more important."

"You know…" Harry said slowly. "He didn't want to let me play quidditch. He said those were orders from the Deputy Headmistress, who's McGonagall. Well, she granted me permission to participate in the trials."

"Are you really suggesting that-" Ron was about to say.

"Of course I don't think it's McGonagall. It just occurred to me he might be trying to make himself look innocent. To me, at least." Harry went on, not really believing in the words he was saying.

"See, I told you!"

It was the logical thing to assume, no matter if Severus was a Death Eater or not, but Harry couldn't bring himself to believe it; he was the first person to show Harry a little bit of care and concern, in his own way. The boy didn't want to believe it was all a lie.

"Well, for now, let's stick with what we can do." said Hermione while they walked through the front doors. "Go to the library and research about Flamel. Christmas' holidays are almost here and there will be enough privacy for you to look for his name without drawing attention to what you are doing. At least a few teachers here should know about what Fluffy is guarding and its relation to Flamel, so it will look suspicious."

Two weeks later, Severus put up the list of people who would stay during the holidays. Harry signed it pronto, as he wouldn't want to go back home unless if strictly necessary, but Tonks took a day or two to do it.

"I'll tell my father it's mandatory for us to stay in the castle even though we won't have classes." she told Harry, sourly. "If I go, he'll keep me trapped at home the whole week. Like he kept me trapped my whole life. I am not feeling it this year, plus I really want to find out who this Flamel person is."

Until Christmas, they tried to research as much and as discretely as they could, but the name was hard to find.

"Maybe he's a nobody and we won't find him here." Ron said one day. Hermione insisted he was an important wizard and that his name had to be in a book somewhere.

When she left a couple of days before Christmas, the will to research was gone from Ron, Tonks and Harry. They shared Ron's thoughts about Flamel being someone they wouldn't find in books, so they spent their days exploring the castle and being at the empty Gryffindor tower with Ron, Fred and George.

They got along pretty well, despite the rivalry between the houses. Fred and George didn't mention the issue, Harry and Tonks didn't either. Tonks won over the twins with her impressions of people, art she mastered when she found out how to change her face and her vocal cords.

Harry felt almost satisfied when he went to sleep the night of Christmas' eve, after a full feast, even though he didn't think he'd get any presents. However, very early in the Christmas morning, Tonks walked inside and started jumping around him on his bed, chanting endlessly: "You got gifts, you got gifts, you got gifts."

"I did…?"

Tonks jumped off his bed. She was wearing a deep blue sweater with a huge letter T knit in yellow.

"From Mrs. Weasley and from someone else I don't know. I got one from her too. This sweater."

Harry followed Tonks to the common room – empty, as they were the only ones who stayed for the holidays – and two parcels waited for Harry under the Christmas tree set up in a corner.

One was from Mrs. Weasley, like Tonks had said, and it was a deep green sweater with a huge H knit in silver, plus a batch of fruit cupcakes. The second parcel was the one that puzzled Harry. There was no name in it besides Harry's, and he couldn't recognize the calligraphy in the note, which said: _Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well._

_Merry Christmas to you, Harry._

Harry opened the parcel and it concealed just an old cloak. He stood up and put it on, making Tonks' jaw drop immediately.

"It's an Invisibility Cloak! You disappeared!"

The boy looked down and saw nothing but the empty room, as if his body was not there.

"Wow, I… Did you read the note? This belonged to my father."

"Oh, there's something else about your father that I think you'd like to know. I was just passing by the trophy room and saw something about the Gryffindor's official quidditch team from 1976; apparently your father was the best seeker of the decade."

Harry realized, then, he knew nothing about his parents. He didn't even know what they looked like.

The sad feeling, however, was brushed aside by a snow fight with Ron and his brothers, and a following warm up session in front of the Gryffindor tower's fireplace. A full lunch went after, and an afternoon equally busy by wizard chess and explosive snap. After that, there was the feast, and only then Harry and Tonks retreated to the Slytherin common room.

"I wish I could stay up longer…" Tonks said with a yawn. "But today was really tiring. Gotta go to sleep. Have a good night of sleep, Harry."

He sat by a couch for a while. He was feeling nowhere near drowsy, so overjoyed he was with the great day he had. But there was something else for it to end up even greater: a visit to the trophy room to check out what Tonks talked about.

There wasn't enough time for him to go there and come back before curfew, however… He remembered the strange gift he received. The Invisibility Cloak. He technically wouldn't be outside his dorms after curfew if no one could see him doing that.

First stop was the trophy room, where he saw that a certain boy named James Potter was the best seeker of the decade, playing for the Gryffindor quidditch team.

Thinking about where he would like to go next, he remembered the library and the research they were supposed to be doing. They couldn't take a look at the private session yet, as they couldn't find a valid reason to get any teacher to sign a pass for them.

But by that time of the day, the library was empty, and Harry had his Invisibility Cloak. He could go there and try to find something in the private session.

OoOoO

Severus always has had problems to sleep, but ever since the murder attempt at the quidditch match, he'd been sleeping less than four hours a night. He spent his extra hours patrolling the castle, looking for any hint that could point him in the direction of the person who was helping Voldemort.

Although he already had an idea of who it could be, not matter how unlikely it seemed: Quirell was the new element inside the castle, besides Harry. Dumbledore warned Severus he could not close his mind for other possibilities, but the advice fell flat.

The students had separate bleachers from the teachers. If it was a student, then he would have to be powerful enough to set something on fire at very large distances. Something not even skilled wizards could do, let alone a student…

Severus was aimlessly wandering close to the library when he heard a loud crash. Mr. Filch almost materialized by his side.

"Someone's in the library." he said.

"I'll go with you." Severus replied and they went together towards the library. There was a broken lamp in the private session, still warm. Whoever did that – and it was probably a student – couldn't be too far away. "You look in here and I'll look outside."

Severus searched in the nearby rooms and there was nothing. Mr. Filch showed up a few moments later to say there was no one at the library. By then, it would be almost impossible to find the student, anyway. Hogwarts was a big castle and they were just two, one of them being by all means a muggle. Mr. Filch said he would go to bed, and that Severus could deal with the student himself.

The Potions master didn't give up, not because he thought he would manage to find whoever he was looking for, but because he had nothing better to do. Sleeping would be better, as a matter of fact, but he couldn't do that unless he was sedated.

Ten minutes later, after plenty of walking around in the perimeter, Severus found a room with the door open. Just a small crack, not enough for him to see who was there. But, obviously, there was someone inside.

He approached the door silently and opened it wider inch by inch. His heart sunk as soon as he saw who and what was inside. Harry was standing in front of the Mirror of Erised, touching its reflective surface.

Dumbledore had mentioned something about creating a ward of his own, and told Severus about the mirror which would be hidden somewhere until he finished the final details of the spell he'd put on the stone.

Severus knew it could be too dangerous for anyone to see the mirror. Why on Earth Dumbledore decided to put the mirror in a room anyone could walk in, it was beyond him.

"Feeling sentimental, Mr. Potter?" he asked, stepping forward.

Harry didn't even turn around.

"Do you see them? My parents?"

His eyes were distant, unfocused. Severus didn't look at the mirror. He knew he'd see at least one of Harry's parents, as he longed for seeing Lily again, but he didn't want for it to happen in the means of an illusion.

"Mr. Potter, look at me."

Eye contact with Harry wasn't much better either…

"Yes, sir?"

Severus took a deep breath and wondered what he could say so they boy would never come back again. Being harsh would not help in this situation; they were alone anyway and Severus' cover had been over for a long while. He could drop the formalities if it meant that Harry would not go insane.

He went down to one knee to be in the same level as Harry: "Mr. Potter, people have gone mad looking at this mirror. It shows what one's heart desires the most, however it's merely a reflection. An illusion. It's not real and in your case, it will never be."

People who lost loved ones were the most susceptible of going mad, Severus knew. People who longed for achieving goals could maybe one day achieve them, and the mirror's effect on them could even be positive, which wasn't Severus' and Harry's case, unfortunately.

Harry nodded.

"I hope I have your word that you won't come back here." Severus added. "It won't do you any good."

"I was curious about what they looked like, sir." Harry looked at the mirror again and frowned. "Oh. They are gone."

Severus could not stop himself from looking, and he saw nothing but the actual reflection of himself and Harry both. He stood up, trying not to show his surprise at what he _didn't _see in the mirror.

"I'll take you back to your common room." he said, remembering how come he ended up there, in the first place. "Were you, by any chances, in the library earlier?"

"I heard a crash coming from there." Harry replied. "I thought it was just a ghost."

The boy was so calm it almost looked like he was lying through his teeth. Any eleven years old boy would be terrified in Harry's spot. However, if it was true what he said, he was already looking at the mirror when the crash at the library happened.

Perhaps he was already going out of his mind. How long he had been there? Severus had to admit that during the holidays, Harry was more out of his sight than the usual.

"At any rate, you shouldn't be out of your room that late of the night."

"I won't do that anymore, sir."

"This is a big castle, Mr. Potter. I hope you understand the risks you are facing when you walk around with no one to call for help if you need it."

"I do."

"Good. I'll take you back to the Slytherin common room and please, stay there until the morning."

Severus dearly hoped he wasn't wrong about giving the benefit of the doubt to the boy.


	11. Chapter 10

Harry, from the bottom of his eleven years old heart, did not want to believe Severus tried to kill him during the match, but he trusted Hermione's eyes more than he trusted his feelings about the situation, so he lied about the fact that yes, he was at the library earlier, and he managed to hide the cloak inside his sweater.

Once Severus dropped Harry off at the Slytherin common room, the boy retreated to his room and could not sleep. He barely remembered his parents' faces by then, so consumed that he was about everything going on. He at least had to agree that he shouldn't see the mirror again. His parents were dead, and that was all they would be.

However, in the following day, he was forced to visit the mirror room again when he told Ron and Tonks what happened:

"Really? Did you see your parents?" Tonks asked. "Can you show me where it is? I never saw my mother."

"I don't think you should." Harry replied.

"Why not?"

"Because Snape told me-"

"He also wanted to kill you that day. I wouldn't trust what he says too much." Ron retorted. "I want to see the mirror too, by the way. But I hope I don't see my parents. I'm sure they look exactly like the last time I saw them."

With several free days still ahead of them, Harry had no other option but to lead them to the room where he found the Mirror of Erised. He avoided looking at the mirror, because his parents were not there anymore.

"So turns out my natural hair color is light brown." Tonks observed while staring at her reflection. "And I look like exactly like my mother, which I have to say am very thankful for."

"I'm holding the Quidditch cup." Ron described, wide-eyed. "And I'm shaking hands with Dumbledore."

Harry only saw Severus standing beside him, smirking like they had a secret only both of them knew about.

"We should go." the boy said. "We can go to the library and try to find out who Flamel is."

"Who are you and what you did to Harry Potter?" Ron asked, eyes still focused on the mirror.

Looking from the outside, it was rather obvious that being near the mirror could make someone lose their mind.

"But we really should go. I bet Snape will show up sooner or later to see if I didn't come back, and I don't want to be here to find out what happens next."

Tonks stepped away from the mirror, giving it one last glance.

"Okay. I don't want to see that either."

Ron sighed, finally giving in: "Fine. But I'm not going to the library. We spent weeks trying to find it while Hermione was here, and we couldn't find a thing. I'm sure we won't find it without her; we'll start looking again when classes start again."

Harry and Tonks promptly agreed and they headed to the Gryffindor common room. During the way, Harry had the impression he saw the tip of a black cloak disappearing further down the hallway they were in.

The days passed and Hermione came back to the castle one day earlier. Harry and his friends were having lunch by themselves on the Great Hall when she unexpectedly arrived, holding a thick old book much like every other book belonging to Hogwarts' library.

"You didn't do any research, did you?" she asked as she sat down. The guilty silence of the three who stayed was enough of an answer: "Well, _I_ did. And I think I found out what Fluffy is guarding."

"Really? What is it?" asked Tonks.

"The Philosopher's Stone." Hermione replied in a whisper. "That's what inside that trapdoor."

"The _what_?" Ron questioned, translating Harry's thoughts.

Tonks raised an eyebrow.

"I thought it was just a fairy tale."

"So did I." Hermione said. "The Philosopher's Stone is a stone obtained through alchemy that has the power of giving eternal life for those who drink its elixir. It can also turn anything into gold. Nicholas Flamel was the only one who managed to fabricate it, and he died with over six hundred years of age. My theory is that he gave Dumbledore the stone trusting that he wouldn't go crazy with its power. Obviously it's a very rare artifact, and everyone's looking for it. That's why the vault got robbed, and that's why someone inside Hogwarts is trying to steal it."

"And they might be the same person who's trying to kill Harry." added Tonks.

"But why kill me if Voldemort is already gone?" Harry asked. "Killing me won't bring him back."

Ron shrugged.

"The Death Eaters were a bunch of lunatics, Harry. I wouldn't be too surprised if they wanted to kill you just to get revenge and at least _one_ of them must be thinking of getting the stone to be rich and immortal. Then again, the burglar might not have anything to do with it."

"This is not very comforting." Tonks said. "I thought Hogwarts was supposed to be the safest place in the Wizardry World, but I guess not even Hogwarts is safe if you put Harry and the Philosopher's stone under the same roof."

"As long as Dumbledore is here, it should be fine." Hermione said. "He is the most powerful wizard alive right now. Even Voldemort was afraid of him. A Death Eater and a burglar won't stand a chance, especially not if it's the same person."

Harry hoped so.

The following weeks were of calm expectation. No new information about the burglar or the Death Eater inside the castle came up, and Harry was too busy with classes, homework and quidditch. The practices got more difficult as the match against Hufflepuff grew closer: Flint didn't want to underestimate the enemy, even when, a week before the game, the news that Severus would be the referee of the match made it to his ears.

"Well, that will help us out." said Flint, in the dressing room, after an especially hard practice. "But still, we don't want to get used to it and lose to a tougher team because we went out of shape."

"Did he give you a reason why?" Harry questioned, remembering very well he only made it to the ground alive last match because Hermione set Severus' cape on fire. If he was on air, not only he could use his wand, but also there was no way to stop him.

Flint scratched his head.

"Don't know. What did he say, Adrian?"

"Something about security… I guess what happened to you last game didn't go unnoticed. Either Snape's on the match or you are out, but with you in and Professor Snape as the referee, the match won't last twenty seconds."

He knew Severus was often unfair to the other houses, for Slytherin's advantage, and it shouldn't be any different inside the quidditch pitch, but Harry wasn't certain the game would be that quick. It should be long enough for him to suffer a fatal fall.

"Don't worry." Flint said at last. "We also got instructions to get your back if you end up falling again. Snape's orders."

"Did he really-"

"Yes. Of course." Pucey replied. "He isn't happy that you are on the pitch, because someone's after you, but since it's out of his hands and he doesn't want any of his students to die… We don't want our best seeker to die either so we would do it even if he didn't _strongly suggest_ for us to do that."

"That's weird." was Tonks' reaction when Harry told her what happened. "Why would he ask for the team to save you if he wants… To kill you?"

"I don't know!" Harry exclaimed as loud as he dared, resting his back on the couch. "Nothing that he does make any sense to me!"

Tonks sighed softly.

"I just think that we don't have the full picture yet. None of us know him, I doubt that anyone inside this castle does. Let's wait and see, no? Something more definitive _has_ to come up sooner or later. I don't think Hermione is wrong about what she saw, but maybe there's more to it than what we know. We don't know much."

Harry preferred something more definitive to show up sooner rather than later. If the mystery stretched beyond the term and if he had to spend the summer at Privet Drive with the problem still in his mind, he'd go insane.

It did show up, however.

The day of the Hufflepuff match, Harry was uneasy. He didn't care about the game itself – didn't even mind Malfoy hurling insults at him during breakfast while Tonks retaliated – but about the fact someone might try to kill him again and that someone might be Severus, on a broomstick, possibly close enough to use his wand.

Then again, he did ask for the Slytherin quidditch players to pay attention on Harry, which would be counterproductive to put it mildly. The boy doubted anything, but found it hard to believe Flint and Pucey lied.

There was a pit on Harry's stomach when Severus blew the whistle, signalizing the beginning of the game. It was very easy for the Slytherin team to score with a partial referee like Severus. The game would be easily won – if only Harry could find the snitch. It was taking him longer than usual, because he avoided being close to Severus, up until the point that he saw the snitch was a few inches besides Severus' shoulder.

Getting close to him might represent the chance of being hit by a hex, but gladly Harry had a Nimbus 2000. Severus would not even see Harry approaching until after the boy had caught the snitch and was safe with his feet on the ground.

And so it was. Harry carefully positioned himself above the snitch and took a sudden dive, full speed towards the ground, much like the time he caught Neville's Remembrall. He almost brushed shoulders with Severus, and then his fingers held the snitch tight and he landed before anyone had the chance of even realizing he had it.

The Slytherin team wouldn't take long to land and celebrate around Harry, but in between the cheers, he saw Severus landing nearby the exit and shoving his broomstick aside, just as Quirell left the pitch, looking worried.

Severus left seconds after.

Harry took a while to get out of the celebration and exit the pitch. By then Quirell had disappeared, and Severus walked inside the Forbidden Forest. Harry mounted on his broomstick again and caught up with Severus, following him silently from above.

Quirell was waiting for Severus not too far inside the forest – gladly, or else Harry wouldn't be able to follow them with his broomstick anymore.

"S-severus. You want to talk to me?"

"Yes, I do." he replied in a low, smooth tone that he reserved only for the times when he was about to explode in anger. "You found out how to pass the beast, haven't you?"

"N-no, I h-haven't-"

"Don't lie to me!" Severus suddenly shouted and held his wand against Quirell's neck like a dagger. His tone went low again: "You don't want me as your enemy, do you?"

"I don't k-know anyt-thing. Please don't hurt m-me." Quirell whimpered, helpless. "I don't know anything, I swear!"

Severus squinted his eyes minutely and let go of Quirell, putting away his wand.

"I don't believe you. I'm waiting for you to spill out."

Harry decided he had heard enough and he left before any of them could notice him hiding up in the trees.

Hermione, Tonks and Ron were halfway towards the castle when Harry landed next to them and said: "We need to talk. I think I know where Snape stands now."

OoOoO

Severus realized there was a sudden and almost imperceptible shift in Harry's attitude in the minute he stepped inside the dungeons for the Potions class. The Hufflepuff match went well. Quirell was there but nothing happened, and he kept acting as if though he didn't know how to pass the three-headed dog, but someone has been going down the trapdoor regularly and trying to find out how to pass the other wards.

By elimination, Quirell was the only one who could be doing that, even though it didn't look like he had a reason, or like he was even capable of such thing. Deep down, Severus knew he was. A little background search on Quirell's life told Severus he didn't have a speech problem or even wore a turban until recently.

Dumbledore didn't want to eject Quirell out of the castle unless that there was solid evidence or at the very least a coherent reason. Severus was working on that.

However well the match went, something about Harry changed, down to the robotic way that he went to his seat and kept staring down at the book. Did something upset him? Nothing that Severus knew of; then again he didn't know as much as he would like.

Now, that would be a particularly annoying class, considering the potion the students had to brew was explosive and Longbottom and Finnigan were in the same room. Only the thought of it took Severus close to the edge.

He tried his best to lecture all the possible details of the potion so no one got it wrong, but Harry wasn't paying attention, something uncommon and possibly dangerous.

"Mr. Potter, can you repeat out loud what I just said?"

Severus could not stop himself from making the association between Harry's cold green eyes with Lily's eyes just after he had blurted out the worst words he'd ever spoken.

"You said the instructions to brew the potion, sir."

There was a weak wave of snickers and repressed giggles in the room. Severus' blood boiled, and he said: "Detention for the cheek, Mr. Potter. If you fail to brew this potion perfectly on your own, you'll have extra homework as well."

As it turned out, he did brew the potion perfectly, only because Granger was instructing him.

"I said _on your own_, Potter. Getting help from Granger does not fulfill this condition."

Severus was massaging his temples moments before Harry was supposed to arrive at the classroom to scrub the cauldrons. How come he did such a violent turn in his manners, seemingly without any reason? But did his father have any reason to think he was better than others and demean them? Unlike Potter, Harry actually had plenty of reasons.

It took a while for it to get to the boy's head, but it did. It made Severus' job way harder than what it should be, however he wasn't doing it out of his feelings for Harry.

The sight of a defiant Harry made a deep settled anger stir inside Severus' chest.

"You are late."

"I know."

"You better fix your manners before I change my mind about you being part of the quidditch team. Funny how you let that get into your head, Potter."

Harry started scrubbing his first cauldron and said under his breath: "You won't do that."

"Don't try me, you insolent little idiot. You wanted me to tell something about your parents, so let me tell you something about your father: he was, not much unlike you, an insolent and thoughtless man." To each word, Severus could see Harry tensing. "He could've been alive today. But he isn't. Want to take a wild guess why?"

Harry remained in silence, with his lips pursed.

"I'm sure you thought of the right answer." Severus kept on going. "And since you started being in silence, remain that way until your detention is over. I have no patience for students who think they are better than the rules."

At least that Harry obeyed and once he was done, he left in equal silence. Once he was gone and Severus calmed his spirits, an intrusive thought went through his mind yet again: something happened to the boy for him to act that way. He was not like his father. And Severus would never know what happened because of how he acted upon Harry's misbehavior. He swallowed back those thoughts.

Maybe Harry was like his father, after all.


	12. Chapter 11

"How are we supposed to focus?!" Ron exclaimed, letting go of his quill with a heavy sigh. The four children were at the library, already studying for the upcoming final tests under Hermione's suggestion.

Ron didn't even have to say what was frustrating him; Harry felt it too. How was he supposed to focus when the person trying to steal the stone and avenge Voldemort's death was inside castle, above any suspicion? Harry didn't have hopes of Severus not being the one conspiring against him any longer, and it hurt like a raw, open wound.

It only fueled the rage. Harry wanted to do something, and he wanted to do something in that very second.

Tonks stretched her arms and rubbed the back of her neck.

"I'm going to get another book over there." she announced, to then stand up and walk away.

"But you have to focus!" Hermione whispered to Harry and Ron. "It won't help you any if you get bad grades. I'm as worried as you are, I just don't think that-"

"Hello, kids! Not looking for any trouble, I hope!"

Their necks almost snapped as they turned their heads to look at Hagrid, who appeared out of nowhere. Harry had to be very distracted to miss Hagrid sneaking up on them.

"If you are talking about Flamel, we already found out who he is." Ron said. "And that didn't solve much, really, so you don't have to worry."

"You shouldn't say that out loud." Hagrid replied, as low as he could manage with his naturally thunderous voice. His arms were behind his back. "I just wanted to say hi. I'm going now."

Harry's attention wasn't on Hagrid anymore. Tonks showed up behind Hagrid, and instead of joining them and announcing her presence, she tiptoed closer to Hagrid's back, squinting her eyes as if she was reading something.

Hermione saw it too but continued to act normally: "We promise we won't get in any trouble. See you soon, Hagrid!"

Before leaving, he quickly hid a book inside his cloak.

"You know, Hagrid was hiding a book about dragons behind his back." Tonks said after Hagrid left, sitting on her spot. "About identifying the species by the eggs."

"Are you trying to say Hagrid might have a dragon egg?" Ron replied. "Charlie said it's been forbidden since 1709. I guess Hagrid like his pets as big as he is, but a _dragon_ is a bit too much."

"I've seen Fluffy; I don't think it's _that _impossible for him to at least be in possession of a dragon egg. If he has nothing to hide, he won't mind if we pay him a visit later today, right?"

One hour later, they would be crossing Hogwart's grounds towards Hagrid's hut. All the windows were closed, and the air around the door was far too warm; smoke poured incessantly out of his chimney.

"Is there a chance the dragon is already born?" Harry asked in a mutter before knocking the door.

"Let's hope not." Ron replied. "I've heard they grow up fast."

Hagrid opened the door ajar, just enough to peer at Harry and his friends with one eye. He hesitated for a while and then sighed, opening the door wider for them to come in. As expected, the air inside the hut was so hot Harry thought he would melt if he stayed there for long.

The source of all the heat was the fireplace. The great fire in there warmed up a cauldron floating above it.

"I have the impression you already know what's happening here." Hagrid commented to break the silence.

"Are you trying to hatch an egg?!" Tonks exclaimed right away. "You live in a wooden hut, Hagrid! Please tell me it's for the stone and not for… Whatever dragons are good for."

"I thought it would be fun to… Raise my own dragon. I even got a cage." Hagrid pointed to a small iron cage in the corner of his cluttered living and dining room. "For him to sleep."

"Charlie told me a lot about dragons. Within a week, it won't fit in that cage anymore." Ron said. "You have to be kidding me."

"I'll think about it when the time comes." was Hagrid's optimistic response.

The four kids hoped that there was a solution for that dilemma that didn't involve the Ministry of Magic. What Hagrid wanted to do was illegal, after all. Harry's life seemed to be a long string of unanswerable dillemas, and this one failed to throw him over the edge.

Knowing that his life was on the hands of pure fate, a dragon didn't seem that much of a problem.

In the minute Severus had the chance of killing Harry without being at fault, he would. The quidditch pitch seemed to right place to do it; after the game the boy noticed Severus couldn't kill him there after all.

Everyone was watching. If Harry fell from his broomstick, Severus could not fail to save him.

"I think…" said Harry shyly before they made it to more populated areas of the castle. "I think I'm going to quit quidditch."

Ron immediately protested: "But Harry, you are the best seeker around! The youngest one, too! You can't do that!"

"Well, but he should!" Hermione retorted.

"And it doesn't have to be forever, either." Tonks added. "I'm pretty sure he'll have his spot on the team after whoever's after him is caught. Flint will have to understand. Now, Snape might not be so thrilled about it, but he has to keep his innocent façade so I'm sure he won't protest. At least not out in the open."

"I'll tell him myself." said Harry defiantly. "I want to see what he's going to do."

"Won't it be dangerous to be in the same room as him, _alone_?" Ron questioned.

"I don't think so. Snape won't do anything if there's a chance of him getting caught, so I suppose that if he knows other people know Harry will be alone with him – like the day at Diagon Alley – he won't do anything." Hermione said. "I think you should just talk to the captain of your team, Harry, but you won't change your mind about it, will you?"

Harry shrugged and left the question without an answer.

OoOoO

Severus dreaded all of his living days equally, started with the one he was born, but ever since Harry's shift of attitude took place, the Potions Master dreaded Mondays the most. Some conflict was sure to arise in that particular class, even if Severus had relaxed a bit on his position of spy. He still treated the Slytherin students better, but didn't feel obligated to spoil Draco. Or even to treat Harry badly, although he deserved it.

There was something reassuring about picking a side for good. No what ifs, buts or maybes. There was no condition to Severus' loyalty to Harry, no matter how prickly and downright detestable the boy had become: Severus wasn't doing it for him, after all.

It was all for Lily. And his love for her was unconditional.

That particular Monday, however, he was yet again caught off guard by Harry. The class was over, the students were leaving and strangely enough, the boy had been serene for the most part.

Everyone was leaving, and he was staying behind.

"Harry, aren't you coming with us?" asked his ginger sidekick, the tenth or the twentieth Weasley boy Severus had to deal with.

"I want to talk to Snape." Harry had replied in a low but distinct tone.

The Weasley boy shrugged and took off after Granger and the color changing novelty, Tonks.

Once the last student closed the door of the dungeons, Severus approached Harry carefully: "What is it that you want to talk to me, Mr. Potter?"

Whatever was going through his head was beyond reach to Severus. It puzzled him greatly that a kid would be so secretive. Severus feared that his mind was as transparent as cellophane for some people.

"I'm not going to play quidditch anymore." said the boy to Severus' relief. He had, obviously, to keep it together, but that didn't stop him from asking the big question:

"Why?"

Harry shrugged.

"It's not that interesting."

"If that's so, I'll have Flint to find another seeker. And I'm afraid I'll have to keep your broomstick, since you were only allowed to own it because you were a member of the team." Severus said, knowing that Harry was lying about the reason. He loved Quidditch; there was no way to deny he was like his father at least about that.

"I can bring it now if you want to."

"I do, in fact."

Harry left a dumbstruck Severus behind. He said it wasn't that interesting anymore as if Severus had been forcing to play quidditch all along; as if Severus wanted him to play quidditch. As a matter of fact, Severus did not and made it very clear.

Why would Harry ever think that quitting quidditch was such an act of defiance?

It wasn't.

He was back within five minutes, bringing his Nimbus 2000 without any trace of regret or attachment to it. The whole act had to be calculated.

Severus took a deep breath and inquired: "Is this some kind of funny prank? I know you are lying about quidditch not being _interesting_. I've seen you play, Mr. Potter."

"You don't know what I find interesting."

Harry put the broomstick on top of a desk, turned on his heels and left. For a moment, Severus hesitated to touch the broomstick and lock it away in a cupboard in his office, as if touching it would make the whole surreal scenery vanish. It was true that Severus didn't know what Harry found interesting, but he could've sworn… At least the initial excitement about the chance of being part of the team had to be real.

Regardless of the true reasons behind such act, Harry seemed resolute and ended up acting wisely. Giving up on quidditch increased the chances of him making it to the end of the term.

Severus, albeit he would not confess that not even to himself, was glad.

OoOoO

_It's going to hatch._

Hagrid's handwriting, which was shaky in its best days, seemed way worse in that note. Classes were yet to be over that day, but there was no discussion to which was better, see a dragon egg hatching or attend Herbology class, not even to Hermione.

Even if just to make sure Hagrid's house would not burn down as soon as the dragon stepped out of its shell, she went along without protest, and they all gathered up around the black egg put on top of the dining table. It already had several cracks on its shell and something moved inside it, urging to break free.

"I don't mean to spoil the fun, but do you know what do with it once it's out?" Tonks asked.

"I've read a bit. It's a Norwegian Ridgeback. Shouldn't put up much trouble if I'm patient."

Tonks didn't feel much safer after Hagrid's statement. All in all, she found everything around Hogwarts to be too _dangerous_. From a homicidal teacher, to a three-headed dog, to a troll in the dungeons; the last thing she wanted was to be put in more danger and be around a grown dragon.

Yet, she couldn't look away as a clumsy miniature of a dragon broke down the shell and took its first steps. It tried to put fire through its mouth and produced only a small sparkle.

"Look how cute he is! His name is Norbert, by the way. Look at mommy, Norbert, look at mommy!" Hagrid said rather pathetically.

Tonks rolled her eyes and they caught a glimpse of a blonde head disappearing in front of the window, as if someone was there watching, and then he or she crouched. She let Hagrid and her friends to fawn over Norbert while she went towards the window, cracking it open to check if her eyes were not mistaken.

As far as she could tell, no one had been there.

"Why did you open the window?" Harry asked.

"I thought I saw someone. But it was just an impression."

Later, she would learn that it wasn't quite the case. After dinner, she stayed up late, reading a new book her father sent to her – even with something else to do besides read, Tonks still had the habit of reading muggle books -, well hidden in a corner of the common room.

Crabbe and Goyle were up still and Malfoy apparently joined them. Tonks could not see, as she had her back turned, but she could hear quite well someone sitting down and saying: "I hope you took notes of Herbology's class today."

"Where were you?" asked Goyle.

"Can't say it here. Suffice to say, Hagrid's in trouble. That mutt shouldn't even be here in the first place. Potter's in trouble too, if we are lucky." Crabbe and Goyle laughed. "But like I said, this isn't the place to discuss this."

Tonks held her breath until the three of them went to bed. It was as clear as the day that she saw Malfoy spying on them back at Hagrid's hut; it was also clear that he wasn't planning to say something about Norbert to anyone, at least not then. The reason why was beyond Tonks.

The next day, after filling her friends on what she heard from Crabbe, Goyle and Malfoy, Hermione's reply was final: "We need to convince Hagrid to let Norbert go."

"We could send a letter to Charlie. He can look after Norbert if that's what it takes for Hagrid to let go of him." Ron said.

"Today. The sooner we can get rid of the dragon, the better." Tonks said, quite relieved to see a solution for the problem. "Let's write the letter now. Malfoy's disgusting, we can't count he'll wait much longer to tell someone."

Malfoy was sneaky enough to follow them to Hagrid's hut or maybe even eavesdrop on previous conversations. Tonks had no doubts he would stir some trouble, but if Norbert was gone, the issue was non-existent. Malfoy wasn't persuasive enough to convince anyone that Hagrid hatched a dragon egg – not if said dragon was miles away.

The blonde, disgusting boy would prove himself to be the smallest of the problems, however…


End file.
